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09/25/2023 05:04 PMNORTH HAVEN
Since its first meeting in February at the Moon Rise Cafe, the North Haven Local Prevention Council (LPC) has been strategizing and engaging with the community to reduce resident drug misuse and the negatively perceived mental health stigma.
The LPC’s mission operates through a grant from the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, organizing talks with community members about what trends they are witnessing regarding youth vaping and opioid addiction.
“We’re still in place to try and build our coalition,” said LPC prevention specialist Nicole Mason. “We have gotten a couple of new members. We still operate at the Moon Rise Cafe, which is a neutral space where people can come in and get a cup of coffee on us and talk about what are some emerging trends and things going on and how we can get involved.”
To help educate on the dangers of vaping and opioids such as the highly potent drug fentanyl, the LPC is looking to establish a partnership with the Office of First Selectman Mike Freda on how to educate the public on many aspects of addressing addiction and treatment. The partnership would be supported by Opioid Settlement Dollars—monies sent to municipalities in Connecticut originating from cases settled by large pharmaceutical companies that were accused of contributing to the national opioid crisis. The state was involved in several cases, including against manufacturers such as Purdue Pharma, and settlements resulting in $78 million will be received by towns like North Haven.
Through the collaboration, Freda said the settlement dollars present North Haven with an opportunity to develop additional resources and options for families in need “to address the growing problem of substance use disorder in our society.”
“The settlement dollars can be used for Narcan purchases, to invest into recovery resources through the Quinnipiack Valley Health District, and also can be used for our onsite clinicians through our community services center,” said Freda.
While treatment remains important, Mason specified that settlement dollars should mainly be used for “upstream work” focusing on prevention and increasing access to treatment, rather than work coming from “a reactionary place.”
“The nature of the funds per the state and Attorney General’s Office...needs to be funds spent on prevention,” said Mason. “[We are] thinking more education, thinking more root causes of overdoses in town, and trying to get ahead of it versus just simply providing Narcan and things like that.”
Mason added that reducing the stigma against individuals who are addicted to opioids is another key element of treatment and education. It comes down to understanding how substance use intersects with mental health and trying to target that within the North Haven population, while “knowing that using substances is not a moral failing,” Mason said.
“Having these conversations about what processes of addiction really look like and having those honest dialogues, I think, is important,” she added.
As part of its goal to be more involved with North Haven youth, the LPC is looking to connect with students from high school to elementary school. Mason and Kara Sepulveda of Quinnipiack Valley Health District were at the North Haven High School’s open house on Sept. 19, “giving out information to parents to learn more about us and to make connections,” said Mason, something they are looking to do at each grade level.
“The earlier you can have these conversations, the better,” said Mason. “I know a lot of folks say, ‘Well, what if what if I’m putting the idea in their head of using drugs and things like that,’ and we know within prevention science, that’s a myth.”
Having conversations that contribute to an open dialogue on substance abuse and its reasons can help youth understand that using vaping, for example, “is actually a stimulant and it can cause anxiety,” Mason stated, rather than be an effective coping mechanism for anxiety.
“These types of conversations aren’t going to promote somebody to use if they never have,” said Mason. “Ideally, we’ll get into the school if they’re willing to have us and have these conversations with students and with parents and with educators and see what their needs are in terms of their prevention needs and how we can support that.”
An opportunity to practice an even more “honest dialogue” on addiction and adjacent mental health concerns is available through talks the LPC hosts on the third Thursday of each month, in person or over Zoom. These conversations will provide a safe space for those who are comfortable sharing their personal experiences with substance misuse or mental health for those who simply want to understand those difficult topics better.
“You don’t have to disclose if you don’t want to. You don’t have to tell us if you have lived experience or a loved one does. They aren’t support groups where we’re coming and processing our experiences. They’re more action-based groups [that state], ‘This is a community level issue, what can we all do to contribute to create change,” said Mason. “[What] do ask people that come is be ready to kind of be like an active participant in that way.”
For more information on the meetings, contact the LPC at 203-343-0795 or northhavenprevention@gmail.com.