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Wendy Penner, the NBCC's director of prevention and Wellness, moderates a panel discussion about the opioid abuse epidemic on Friday in North Adams.
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Amber Besaw, interim executive director of the NBCC, introduces the forum at the North Adams Movieplex on Friday.
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Wendy Penner, the NBCC's director of prevention and Wellness, introduces local videographer Joe Aidonidis on Friday.
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Ryan Sears, right, a recovering addict featured in the local film, speaks at the panel on Friday.

Coalition Forum Tackles Opioid Abuse Epidemic

By Rebecca DravisIberkshires.com Staff
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NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — A film of a different kind was showing Friday morning at the North Adams MoviePlex.

The Northern Berkshire Community Coalition sponsored a screening of "Faces: Five Voices from One Community — Addiction and Recovery in North Berkshire" by local videographer Joe Aidonidis at the theater in place of its usual monthly forum in the First Baptist Church.

The film, which features five local stories related to addiction and recovery, grabbed the attention of the more than 100 people from all walks of life who attended the forum — from concerned citizens to representatives of local addiction recovery services to law enforcement officials to recovering addicts themselves.

Aidonidis addressed the meeting before the film was shown, explaining how the original intent was to showcase multiple stories at shorter intervals for the addiction and recovery walk held in North Adams in September. But as he talked to people affected by addiction, he realized there stories needed to be told in greater length.

"When you really take it in ... there was no way I could cut it down to two or three minutes," Aidonidis said. "We thought it was so valuable. We couldn't just throw it out."

Instead, he focused on five people, including parents of children affected by drug abuse, North Adams Mayor Richard Alcombright and Ryan Sears, a recovering addict who also spoke on the panel after the film. And as Aidonidis reminded the audience Friday that there was much more to their stories than just the five minutes in the film, he also reminded them to applaud their courage.

"I'm very honored by the openness and honesty I received from these people," he said. "These people are super brave."

Hearing these personal stories was one part of the forum on Friday, which also saw a discussion about the related issue of law enforcement. Alexander Daugherty from Berkshire District Court was on the panel and spoke about how the current theory is to encourage recovery while balancing the need for public safety.

"We have tools in this community. We are blessed," he said. "We are here to support the people of the community."

Tammy Cagle from the newly launched Drug Court in Pittsfield, in the audience along with Berkshire County Sheriff Thomas Bowler and North Adams Police Detective Mark Bailey, echoed those sentiments.

"Instead of putting people in jail, we're putting them in recovery for their addiction," she said. "Addiction is a disease. We shouldn't criminalize people for having a disease."

Bowler made the point that a "missing link" in the discussion was representatives from health insurance companies, which can stand between an individual and the appropriate treatment, and stressed that the Sheriff's Department would be part of the overall solution.

"There is not a short-term fix," he said. "None of us can do this alone in this community."

Bailey spoke from the heart about his job, which makes him "live in the drug culture," he said. In conversations with addicts he encounters, he said he has found that they feel "very alone," which leads him to advocate for a more "proactive approach" to the problem. People need to be willing to knock on doors, engage their fellow community members, and help them get help they need.

"I know where the high crime areas are," he said. "I'm willing to give that information out to people who are willing to become neighbors again."

Just how many of our neighbors needs that help? Ann McDonald from Berkshire Health Systems presented some staggering and sobering data about the magnitude of the opioid epidemic in Berkshire County. McDonald said BHS is committed to finding solutions to the crisis until they "absolutely have minimized the effects," from leading the charge to reduce the number of painkillers prescribed to opening new avenues of recovery, like the new 30-bed Clinical Stabilization Services (CSS) Unit at Berkshire Medical Center, which allows stays of between 14 and 30 days, to keeping data to help drive recovery services.

That data shows that in 2011, the 50-59 age group had the biggest problem with drug abuse, but by this year, the age groups of 20-29 and 30-39 were the biggest demographics. The number of drug-related deaths in the first nine months of 2016 already equals the entire year 2014, which was the highest year was 2008. And 2015 and 2016 showed huge jumps in the presence of opioids.

Specific to North County, McDonald said that in the first nine months of 2016 there were 105 overdoses that came through the doors of Berkshire Health Systems facilities; of those, 45 percent were opioids. But she fleshed out that data by saying that 55 percent of EMS calls for overdose refuse transport after being stabilized at the scene, and so the 105 number was likely very low.

"You can easily take my numbers and double them," she said.

But there is hope, Brien Center CEO Christine MacBeth said, and that starts with conversations like Friday's, where people talk openly and honestly and compassionately about addiction.

"I'm a firm believer that stigma gets in the way of people getting what they want," she said. "It speaks volumes that you have a community that cares."

Her advice? "Talk harder. Talk louder. Talk more, so over time, the stigma becomes less," she said. "Addiction is a disease. Prevention is effective. Treatment does work and people can and do get better."


Tags: heroin,   NBCC,   opioids,   substance abuse,   

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Macksey Updates on Eagle Street Demo and Myriad City Projects

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff

The back of Moderne Studio in late January. The mayor said the city had begun planning for its removal if the owner could not address the problems. 
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The Moderne Studio building is coming down brick by brick on Eagle Street on the city's dime. 
 
Concerns over the failing structure's proximity to its neighbor — just a few feet — means the demolition underway is taking far longer than usual. It's also been delayed somewhat because of recent high winds and weather. 
 
The city had been making plans for the demolition a month ago because of the deterioration of the building, Mayor Jennifer Macksey told the City Council on Tuesday. The project was accelerated after the back of the 150-year-old structure collapsed on March 5
 
Initial estimates for demolition had been $190,000 to $210,000 and included asbestos removal. Those concerns have since been set aside after testing and the mayor believes that the demolition will be lower because it is not a hazardous site.
 
"We also had a lot of contractors who came to look at it for us to not want to touch it because of the proximity to the next building," she said. "Unfortunately time ran out on that property and we did have the building failure. 
 
"And it's an unfortunate situation. I think most of us who have lived here our whole lives and had our pictures taken there and remember being in the window so, you know, we were really hoping the building could be safe."
 
Macksey said the city had tried working with the owner, who could not find a contractor to demolish the building, "so we found one for him."
 
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