Schedule

Michael Curry, Esq. (President & CEO of the Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers)

Speaker: Jon Soske, PhD (Research Associate, Brown University. Providence, RI) Moderator: Paul Alves, RCPF, CARC, NCPRSS (Executive Director, Choice Recovery Coaching. Springfield, MA) Summary: After decades of playing a critical role in providing strengths-based recovery support, peer recovery specialists are becoming widely recognized. From the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration to the American Journal of Public Health, important voices have called to expand this role in response to the overdose crisis and strains on the substance use disorder treatment system. However, this success has been accompanied by serious challenges. Recent publications have described burnout, emotional exhaustion, moral injury, economic exploitation, and high workforce turnover. Programs have shut down due to lack of sustainable funding and inability to retain peer staff. Although these impacts intensified during the COVID-19 pandemic, they began before March 2020 and have continued since. As one outreach worker recently stated: “The new normal is a nonstop crisis.” This panel will be led by Jon Soske, PhD, who will outline an "agenda for a debate" by discussing the transformation of the peer recovery specialist role and major challenges to making the peer workforce sustainable. A panel of peer recovery specialists, chaired by Paul Alves (Choices Recovery Coaching), will respond to these proposals in a lively debate.

Use this time to connect with others!

Led by: Noel Vest, PhD (Assistant Professor, Boston University School of Public Health. Boston, MA.) Summary: This session will explore the landscape of addiction recovery support at colleges in Massachusetts, featuring insights from four college students in recovery at Boston College, Harvard, and Tufts University. We will examine the differences in recovery resources across these institutions, with a focus on how the collegiate recovery programs (CRPs) at Boston College and Tufts contribute to or challenge their recovery journeys. The discussion will begin with a brief overview of the history of collegiate recovery, highlighting recent research findings and key statistics in the field. Attendees will gain a deeper understanding of the varied experiences of students in recovery and the role of institutional support in fostering their success.

Led By: Jeff Baxter, MD (Chief Medical Officer, Spectrum Health Systems, Inc., Worcester, MA.) Ryan Walker (Assistant Director of Licensing, Quality Assurance and Licensing, Bureau of Substance Addiction Services) Heidi DiRoberto, LMHC (Regional Executive Director, Spectrum Health Systems, Inc., Worcester, MA.) Tania Diduca (Chief of Staff, South Middlesex Opportunity Council) Summary: For decades methadone treatment has been limited almost exclusively to free-standing OTP sites, creating barriers to treatment access such as travel distance and transportation. Methadone delivered through mobile units has been utilized to expand access and reach populations facing these barriers. In this workshop we will discuss our experience in the last few years launching mobile methadone services in Worcester, MA. Topics will include manufacturing, funding and licensing of the mobile unit, working with community partners to identify populations in need and locations where the unit can operate, and managing treatment services ‘on-the-go’, such as medical evaluations for admission, medication dispensing, behavioral treatment and social services. Participants will be asked to brainstorm potential applications of this model in their own home communities, listing populations that could benefit and community partners that might be willing to collaborate.

Led by: Ramona Reno (Executive Director, Re-entry and Recovery Program, MassHire Holyoke Career Center; Holyoke, MA) Summary: In this interactive workshop, participants will explore strategies to support individuals in recovery as they navigate employment opportunities. Designed for clinicians and social workers, the session integrates elements of the Recovery Ready Employment Specialist (RRES) training, focusing on creating recovery-ready workplaces, reducing stigma, and applying trauma-informed approaches. Attendees will engage in a hands-on activity to build empathy and understanding, learn effective motivational interviewing techniques, and discover actionable steps to collaborate with employers and community resources. By the end of the session, participants will leave with practical tools to empower individuals in recovery to achieve economic stability and personal growth.

Led by: Justin, Alves, RN, FNP-BC, ACRN, AACRN, CARN, CNE (Clinical Nurse Educator, Grayken Center for Addiction Training and Technical Assistance. Boston, MA.)

Led by: Al Ortiz (Manager for Recovery Services, Holyoke Health Center. Holyoke, MA) Johnny Franchio, CPS (Recovery Coach, Riverside CBHC Norwood. Norwood, MA)

Led by: Paul Alves, RCPF, CARC, NCPRSS (Executive Director, Choice Recovery Coaching. Springfield, MA) Summary: Though great work has been done to make more recovery pathways accessible, established pathways do not always embrace the full range of cultures, identities, and life experiences that people bring with them on their journey. The Infinite Pathways of Recovery concept does not start with a menu, but rather with an individual’s unique needs and strengths that they bring with them from their various experiences, identities, and cultures. We can help them build a tapestry of supports specific to them, creating a flexible, strong pathway that is as unique as they are and can grow and change with them as they progress throughout their recovery. This workshop will address how we can help individuals discover how their personal culture and strengths provide a foundation to build from to amplify their wellness, foster self-efficacy, and sustain their recovery wellness long-term.

Led by: Charmaine Lastimoso, RN, NP-C, MPH (Dana Farber Cancer Institute. Boston, MA. ) Calla Harrington, LICSW (Behavioral Health Network. Longmeadow, MA) Amanda Tower (Grant Project Coordinator, MassAbility. Boston, MA) Summary: We plan to engage learners around the often invisible and misunderstood challenges that our patients face when struggling with the impacts of acquired brain injury and working on their substance use recovery. The workshop will address why it is important to acknowledge, screen, and accommodate for these challenges through a lens of Ableism. Together, we will take a multidisciplinary and systematic view to formulate methods for improving the care we provide for our patients.

Speaker: Alexander Walley, MD, MSc (Professor of Medicine, Boston University Chosbanian and Avesdisian School of Medicine, Primary Care Physician and Addiction Specialist, Boston Medical Center. Boston, MA. )

Panelists: Joy Rucker (Co-Founder, Black Harm Reduction Network) Pedro Alvarez (Director of Harm Reduction Operations, Tapestry Health. Springfield, MA.) Erika Hensel, CHW (Project Manager for Opioid Response, Attorney General’s Office) Stephen Murray, MPH, NRP (Harm Reduction Program Manager, Director, SafeSpot Overdose Hotline, Boston Medical Center. Boston, MA. )

Use this time to connect with others!

Led by: Natrina Johnson, PhD, MSc (Research Scientist, Grayken Center for Addiction, Boston Medical Center. Boston, MA.) Joy Rucker (Co-Founder, Black Harm Reduction Network) Dallas Clark (Founder and Director, Cultivating Better Minds Inc. Springfield, MA.)

Led by: Traci Green, PhD, MSc (Professor, Director, Opioid Policy Research Collaborative, Brandeis University. Waltham, MA.) Marisol Pacheco (Research Assistant, Drug Checking Technician, Opioid Policy Research Collaborative. Boston, MA.) Abby Edelmann (Research Assistant, Drug Checking Technician, Opioid Policy Research Collaborative. Revere, MA.) Charlie Summers (Graduate Research Assistant, Opioid Research Collaborative. Milford, MA.) Ivy Sabal (Research Assistant, Drug Checking Technician, Opioid Policy Research Collaborative. Northampton, MA.) Jamie Davis (Community Engagement and Harm Reduction Program Manager, Opioid Policy Research Collaborative. Chesterfield, MA.)

Led by: RIZE MA Foundation

Led by: Mark Jachym (Medical Respite Program Manager, Harm Reduction Coordinator, Friends of the Homeless. Northampton, MA) William Soares III, MD, MS (Director of Harm Reduction Services, Department of Harm Reduction Services, Baystate Medical Center. Springfield, MA)

Led by: Randi Sokol, MD, MPH, MMedEd (Program Director, Tufts Addiction Medicine Fellowship at Cambridge Health Alliance, Director of Faculty Development and Pain/Addiction Curriculum. Cambridge, MA. )

Led by: Oami Amarasingham, Esq. (Deputy Director, Massachusetts Public Health Association) Summary: Panelists will shed light on the legal landscape and practical considerations involved in implementing supervised drug consumption as an overdose preventions strategy in Massachusetts. The panel will touch on the Massachusetts campaign to authorize OPCs and explore ways to expand harm reduction services given the current state and federal regulatory frameworks. The panel will be moderated by Oami Amarasingham, Esq., Deputy Director of the Massachusetts Public Health Alliance. Panelists to be announced