Worcester Business Journal

www.wbjournal.com February 15, 2016 • Worcester Business Journal 7 Leominster branch, he anticipated serv- ing 200 patients in the first seven months, but it actually has been about 320. He mentioned Spectrum's North Adams and Saugus facilities as others where demand is high. "It seems like everytime we open a new facility – especially an outpatient facility – [there's a lot of demand]," he said. Targeting youth Youth Opportunities Upheld Inc. (Y.O.U. Inc.), a youth services nonprofit in Worcester, has traditionally been a treatment organization, in place to help youth and adolescents deal with their issues after they manifest themselves. But the opioid crisis and the recent availabil- ity of grant funds from the state to help combat it has caused the nonprofit's lead- ership to think about expanding offer- ings, Chief Operating Officer Paul Kelleher said. Most people who die from opioid- related overdoses are between the ages of 18 and 25, Kelleher said, and because of this, it's important to teach kids about the dangers of drug use while they're young. "During the high school years, you really have to impact them, so they have the values and awareness to use when they move onto college," Kelleher said. The nonprofit recently developed a program for opiate abuse prevention in high school athletes. These kids are considered at-risk because they sometimes have to take pain medications after an injury. Kelleher said Y.O.U. Inc. also created an educational program for parents to know what signs to look for. They are currently in process of figuring out how they'll finance these programs. "With this initiative, let's see if we can't get out something that's more communi- ty prevention-based and develop a proj- ect that would help, so we're not down the river pulling the bodies out – so to speak – but instead up the river trying to pre- vent people from falling in," Kelleher said. Nonprofits expanding missions The Bridge of Central Massachusetts, a Worcester nonprofit serving those with challenges in mental health, development, and acquired brain inju- ry, was recently awarded a contract from the Massachusetts Department of Mental Health to develop a program for homeless people with both mental health and substance abuse issues. The contract currently provides enough funds to help 11-12 people find hous- ing, and the nonprofit is currently looking for more funding, said Lorie Martiska, vice president of advance- ment. "We find housing for people first, and then work to connect them with needed treatment, services, benefits and skills to help them successfully retain their housing and achieve self- sufficiency," Martiska said. Martiska said The Bridge of Central Massachusetts is involved with the city's Opioid Task Force, the Substance Abuse Workgroup for the Worcester Community Health Improvement Plan, the Mental Health Workgroup and others. Indeed, combatting the opioid crisis has become a community-based effort, resulting in private-public partner- ships and even state-federal action. In March of last year, Worcester County District Attorney Joseph D. Early Jr. established a Central Mass Task Force to bring together law enforcement, health professionals, government offi- cials and others to strategize. At the drug court in Dudley, Southbridge nonprofit Harrington Hospital provides court participants with individualized treatment plans and counseling as well as drug testing. The court held its first graduation last June. If anything good has come out of this epidemic, it's that the stigma sur- rounding addiction is being addressed and maybe even slightly reduced, Faris said. "How do we eradicate it? We don't. How do we get it down to a level where it's not killing four people a day? That's what the goal has to be," he said. n BUSINESS LENDING WITH MORE GREEN LIGHTS AND LESS RED TAPE. "WHY NOT?" Webster • Dudley • Oxford • Auburn • Worcester • Shrewsbury Business loans from Webster Five come with easy qualifying requirements, fast approvals and an experienced lending team. So nothing will hold you up or weigh you down. You can choose from a wide range of lending solutions to meet any need, with loan amounts up to $12 million. It's banking at the speed of business. And another Webster Five "WHY NOT?". Learn more at web5.com/businesslending. NMLS# 523049 KHJ22174_WEB-239_BIZ LEND_6.5x8.5_MECH 2.indd 1 1/21/16 1:43 PM P H O T O / M A T T V O L P I N I Opioid treatment facilities Acute treatment service beds 207 892 Transitional support service beds 72 344 Residential beds 377 2,358 Outpatient detox programs 1 2 Opioid treatment programs (methadone) 5 40 Outpatient counseling programs 15 122 Source: "Recommendations of the Governor's Opioid Working Group," Massachusetts Department of Health and Human Services, May 2015 Number in Total in Worcester County Mass.

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