In response, the Chautauqua Substance Abuse Response Partnership is urging county residents struggling with addiction to seek treatment, advising them that “Now is the Time.” Now is the time to seek help, including medication-assisted treatment (MAT), for several reasons:

• Deadly amounts of fentanyl have been present in the local drug supply;
• Financial, social, psychological, and physical stresses of living through a pandemic increase risk; and
• Access to treatment, including MAT, has never been easier.

Outpatient clinics across the county are working to make access to treatment available for anyone in need, including those for whom travel to a clinic is a barrier.  Telehealth options for medication and for counseling are available through The Resource Center, The Chautauqua Center, UPMC Chautauqua, the Chautauqua County Department of Mental Hygiene, and the TLC Health Network. Contact and other information can be found at CombatAddictionCHQ.com.

“Now really is the time for anyone struggling with an addiction and/or emotional pain to seek help through one of the outpatient behavioral health clinics throughout the county,” said , Patricia Brinkiman, Chautauqua County Community Mental Hygiene Services Director. “The risks and dangers of these days are great, but so too are the options for help.”

The Chautauqua County Crisis Hotline, 1-800-724-0461, is available if you are experiencing a personal crisis or are in emotional distress.

]]> https://www.wrfalp.com/chemical-treatment-providers-urge-residents-to-seek-medicated-assisted-treatment-if-dealing-with-addiction/feed/ 0 34223 https://www.wrfalp.com/listen-community-matters-chemical-dependency-advocate-rick-huber-july-2019-interview/ https://www.wrfalp.com/listen-community-matters-chemical-dependency-advocate-rick-huber-july-2019-interview/#respond Fri, 26 Jul 2019 13:16:08 +0000 http://www.wrfalp.com/?p=30823

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Originally airing on Thursday, July 25, 2019.

WRFA’s Jason Sample talks with local advocate Rick Huber to get his thoughts on the current state of chemical dependency in the community as well as what more can be done to reduce the numbers and also help those dealing with addiction.

Rick Huber

To tackle the crisis of substance abuse disorders in Chautauqua County, more than two dozen organizations are collaborating to present “The Many Faces of Addiction: No One Cause, No One Solution.” This second Community Education Forum will be held at Jamestown Community College on Wednesday, November 15, 6:30 p.m. Among the planners are (seated, from left) Andrew O’Brien, UPMC-Chautauqua-WCA; Kia Narraway-Briggs, Executive Director, Mental Health Association; Dr. Lillian Vitanza Ney, Health Care Action Team; (standing, from left) Leanna Luka-Conley, Chautauqua County Department of Health and Human Services; Janet Forbes, Program VP, AAUW-Jamestown Branch; and The Rev. Luke Fodor, St. Luke’s Episcopal Church.

JAMESTOWN – An event geared at raising awareness about the causes and treatment for drug addiction is happening Wednesday night, Nov. 15, at Jamestown Community College.

The “Many Faces of Addiction: No One Cause, No One Solution,” is being organized by the Jamestown Health Care Action Team (HCAT) along with the American Association of University Women (AAUW) and the Mental Health Association (MHA).

• LISTEN: COMMUNITY MATTERS PREVIEW OF MANY FACES OF ADDICTION FORUM

The forum will feature several speakers who will share information about their role in working to fight the region’s drug epidemic, along with a question and answer period.

Speakers will include:

• Dr. Karen McElrath, Professor of Criminal Justice, Fayetteville State University, North Carolina;
• Dr. Davina Moss-King, Positive Direction and Associates, Buffalo;
• Andrew O’Brien, former Director of Behavioral Health at WCA;
• Leanna Luka-Conley, Deputy Commissioner of Adult, Children and Family Services for the Chautauqua County Department of Health and Human Services;
• Jamestown Police Chief Harry Snellings;
• and Reverend Luke Fodor of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, Jamestown.

Moderator will be Dr. Lillian Ney.

The forum will begin at 6:30 p.m. at JCC’s  Scharmann Theatre. Attendance is free and open to the public. Light refreshment will be available beginning at 6 p.m.

Monday night the Jamestown City Council’s Public Safety received an update on the Rally to Recover Jamestown event, which is being organized by local resident and advocate Chanda Lynn Germain.

• RELATED: Community Matters – Chanda Lynn Discusses Rally to Recover Jamestown

Last week the committee denied a permit for the event to take place at the Gorenson Bandshell in Allen Park, due to concerns with the number of people expected to be on hand, parking, and lighting.  The committee suggested the event be moved to the Allen Park Ice Rink and asked Germain to return this week for Monday night’s meeting.

However, as WRFA reported last week, Germain has instead opted to partner with the Sherward Arts Complex on E. 2^nd Street to hold her event. And according to Jamestown Fire Department Deputy Fire Chief Chet Harvey, a special event permit is not needed if the event is being held indoors on private property.

Harvey explained to the committee that his staff has been working with the venue operators – Vince Liuzzo and Justin Miller – to ensure the space is code compliant. That includes making attendees aware of sufficient exiting, providing a 15 foot-wide emergency lane, and making sure the maximum number of attendees doesn’t exceed 99 person.

We wanted to make sure it has sufficient exit, and they need to be limiting the number of people that can come through the door. They also have to post a fire watch, who has to be there anytime a person comes into the building. There’s a lot of specifications the fire watch person will have to comply with and they’ll be doing periodic checks throughout the event,” Harvey explained.

Harvey said that if the rally is found to not be in compliance with city or state fire code for any reason during the event, the fire department will work with the organizer to correct the issue, rather than shutting the event down.

The Rally to Recover Jamestown is a free event that is being held to raise awareness about drug addiction in the community as well as the resources that are available, along with a focus on what more can be done. It will run from 1 to 11 p.m.

More details at www.Facebook.com/SaveJamestown.

The Sherwood Arts Complex is located at the Former Dahlstroms Building on E. 2^nd Street.

Chanda Lynn (far right), organizer of the Rally to Recovery Jamestown event scheduled to take place on Sept. 23 at Allen Park in Jamestown, addresses the city council’s public safety committee during its Monday night meeting on Sept. 11.

JAMESTOWN – The Jamestown City Council’s Public Safety Committee has put the brakes on an upcoming event geared to raise awareness about chemical dependency in the community.

The Rally to Recover Jamestown is an event that is being planned by local addiction advocate Chanda Lynn of Jamestown. She scheduled the day-long event to take place on Sept. 23 at the Allen Park Bandshell in Jamestown.

But the city council’s public safety committee on Monday would not approve a special event application required to hold the event. Chair person Maria Jones cited several public safety issues related to the projected number of attendees, traffic, and the event possibly running past 9 p.m.

“There’s a public safety issue because of the no lighting. The parks close at 9. There’s a request for it going on until 10 or 11,” Jones said, adding, “There’s no bathroom facilities for 500 people. There was a checkbox on the request for no extra police, and somebody’s got to manage [the event]. Additional officers would be required for traffic control. There’s no way 500 people are going to park up there and you’re not going to need extra police.”

The committee members instead suggested the event be relocated to the Allen Park Ice Rink, to accommodate the volume of people and which would have adequate parking. However, the move would also require Lynn provide the city with an additional $570 in rental fees, along with a $500 deposit.

When Lynn said it would be a challenge to raise the additional money on short notice, one committee member suggested she may want to look at having the event in other communities if the cost was going to be a challenge.

“In Lakewood you have Hartley Park. There are other venues outside of the city that may not require incurring these costs but as we pointed out, the city does not have the means to pay for the overtime, the staffing, and everything else,” councilwoman Marie Carrubba said.

Following the meeting, Lynn told WRFA that she will be working to move the event to the Allen Park Ice Rink and is trying to secure additional funding for the relocation. She will update the committee during its Sept. 18 meeting.

NY Governor Andrew Cuomo

ALBANY – Governor Andrew Cuomo on Wednesday announced two new actions to expand addiction treatment and recovery services for people across New York.

A Request for Applications makes up to $4.5 million in funding available to develop nine Open Access Centers across the state and a Request for Information has been released that seeks input on the development of two pilot recovery high schools.

According to the governor’s office, these actions were announced at the grand opening of a new $8.4 million outpatient addiction treatment center in Rochester, and are key elements of the Governor’s State of the State address and 2018 FY State Budget.

The Open Access Centers that will be developed are designed to be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to deliver immediate engagement, assessment and referral services to people suffering from substance use disorders.

Creating at least one Open Access Center in each region of the state was one component of a plan the Governor put forward in his State of the State and budget message in January.

Besides the Open Access Center, two pilot recovery high schools will also be developed. A recovery high school offers an alternative, multi-service high school program in a safe, sober, and supportive environment, for students who are in grades nine through 12 and dealing with a substance use disorder.

The RFA for both programs is open to local governments and non-profit organizations. Responses are due October 31.

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Originally airing Thursday, Aug. 3, 2017.

WRFA public affairs director Jason Sample continues his mid-year conversation with Jamestown Mayor Sam Teresi to get an update on several quality of life initiatives the city has been working on in 2017, which were first announced by the mayor in his 2017 State of the City report, released in January. Specifically, the mayor talks about the challenge of housing in the community and what the city is doing to address it, along with the challenge of drug trafficking and drug use.

Jamestown Mayor Sam Teresi