Natick Report

Natick 180 and the Natick Health Department have been particularly visible in recent weeks hosting tables at events such as Multicultural Day and Natick Days, and their efforts to increase public awareness of mental health and addiction recovery continue with a series of upcoming events during this National Recovery Month.

These events include a cleanup at Natick High School and Dug Pond on Sept. 18 from 2:30-4pm, Narcan training (online and at Morse Institute Library) on Sept. 21 at 6pm, and a Sober in the Suburbs speaking event on Sept. 27 at the Common Street Spiritual Center (7-8pm). Registration is open for all events.

Meanwhile, thousands of purple and red flags have been displayed in Natick Center in memory of those whose lives have been lost to opioids.

Narcan training

Narcan training has been making more headlines of late because pharmacies have been approved to offer naloxone—the generic name for the medicine that reverses an opioid overdose—over the counter. The Natick Health Department’s Elizabeth Chalfin says given that naloxone is still not available consistently at pharmacies and does carry a cost, the town is providing the drug for free.<

“Since Natick 180 started providing Naloxone to the community about 5 years ago, we have trained hundreds of community members,” she says.

At community events where the Health Department and Natick 180 have participated in recent weeks, more than a dozen naloxone kits have been distributed.

“This used to be uncommon, but now has become quite common when we are chatting with community members at public events,” Chalfin says. “People are asking about Naloxone and wanting access.”

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Recovery and settlements

It’s hard to quantify the effectiveness of Natick’s efforts to address addiction in the community since it is such a personal issue. But Chalfin says “Anecdotally, we are encountering more members of the community who are sharing their stories and want to promote a recovery-oriented culture in Natick.”

As evidence of this, she points to the new Sober in the Suburbs group that is hosting a speaking event on Sept. 27. “There is a growing interest in discussing problematic substance use and amplifying substance-free events and activities,” she adds.

As for the settlement funds conversation, we would be happy to discuss this in more depth with you for a future article. It is such an involved and complex issue, that we feel it really deserves its own article. There will also be more information to share once the article has been discussed at Town Meeting.

The issue of substance abuse and the opioids crisis will stay in the forefront in Natick in coming months, as more information becomes available about the town’s use of funds from the statewide opioids settlements. Appropriation of opioids settlement money is on the Fall Annual Town Meeting warrant (Article 9).

Want to see Natick Board of Health meetings on Natick Pegasus? Let the Health Department and Pegasus know