‘Treat it like what it is.’ Promoting solutions to the opioid epidemic in Milford, Framingham | The Milford Daily News

Originally posted in the The Milford Daily News, September 2, 2021.

MILFORD — David Swindell often drives past the downtown recovery center named in his son’s honor — sometimes because it’s on his way, and sometimes just to see it.

“It’s a double-edged sword,” he said. “My heart breaks in that Chris is no longer with us. …. The big fear as a parent is that everyone is going to forget your child. This is a way to live on.”

Christopher Swindell died in 2018 of a drug overdose, at 29 years old. Two years later, local advocate Amy Leone and Worcester County District Attorney Joseph Early Jr. secured a $1 million federal grant to open a resource center for those in recovery in Swindell’s name.

“The federal grant is one of those great things. It’s going to save lives,” Early said. “This is a very complex disease of the brain that’s only going to get better when you treat it like what it is.”

On Tuesday night, dozens gathered in the parking lot at Chris’ Corner, where they marked International Overdose Awareness Day with training for the overdose-reversing drug naloxone, photos of those who have died from overdoses, tables promoting services and speakers.

“To open up awareness, to take the stigma out of addiction, offer resources, help make changes,” local counseling psychologist Judi Earnest listed off, as to why she was at Tuesday’s event. “We’re all … a village, making a difference.”

Earnest’s brother Mike Brennan died of an overdose in 2016 at age 47, after more than 30 years battling addiction.

Breaking down the stigma

Speakers on Tuesday included those who lost loved ones, like Swindell and Earnest, and those in recovery, including at least two public officials.

“I’ve learned some of the best ways to break stigma is to have more people talking,”  Uxbridge Selectman Stephen Mandile said. “The more people that share their stories, the more you break down the stigma.”

Mandile was in a Humvee accident while deployed in Iraq in 2004 and 2005 as part of the Army National Guard, he said. The crash left him with brain and spinal injuries, as well as post-traumatic stress disorder, and he became addicted to the medication he was prescribed.

Medical cannabis helped him kick the opioids, he said, and he was open about his recovery in his run for office.

“I think the stigma’s going away,” said Upton resident Michael Mattox, who is in recovery and started a new business as a wellness coach, Michael’s Wellness, during the pandemic. “I think it’s important to keep it going away.”

The annual event was held in the same Main Street location as previous years, but this is the first year the building was occupied by Chris’ Corner. Previously, the event had been hosted by Community Impact, before the counseling center moved to the other end of Milford’s downtown this year.

“Milford’s been ahead of the game on this … ahead of the curve,” Early said.

Leone, with Community Impact and the Regional Substance Navigation Program, and partnering with various organizations, including Early’s office, has been reaching out to addicts and people in recovery with multiple services for years.

“We’ve kept our number of overdoses and our deaths down,” Leone said, of this past year, “but we’re at the point now where we’re going to double (the people we help).”

There have been 33 overdoses and two overdose deaths in Milford so far this year,  Leone said, which is slightly under the 36 overdoses and two deaths recorded around the same time last year. That’s better than nationwide statistics, which showed rising overdose deaths during the pandemic.

Many more people are coming to the Milford addiction programs for help — 2,787 as of the end of July versus 2,143 at the same time last year. Those are potential saved lives, Leone and Early pointed out.

Tuesday’s event was streamed live via Milford TV, where Leone hopes it will reach a wider audience. Last year, the virtual event had about 5,000 attendees, she said.

Programs at the corner are for people in recovery as well as their families, Leone said, and people who have lost loved ones.

“We’re here with no judgement,” she said. “It’s just an open door. They can walk in any time.”

Chris’ Corner is at 12 Main St. Find more information, as well as a spectrum of programs and support services, at https://www.chriscornermilford.com/.

Framingham

In Framingham, Framingham FORCE — a nonprofit whose name stands for fostering opioid recovery, compassion and education — was another organization in the region that marked International Overdose Awareness Day. Purple flags on the Centre Common were placed during a gathering Tuesday evening and will remain until Sept. 8.

“The purple flags are representing one of the over 2,000 lives that have been lost in Massachusetts this past year,” said Joan Capite Grzywna, co-founder of Framingham FORCE. “Framingham FORCE works hard to keep hope alive that people can recover, and purple is the color for recovery.”

Grzywna stressed the organization is not alone — there are groups that work toward supporting people who are seeking recovery across the region and internationally.

Recovery programs:Grants aim for racial equity in opioid fight

“It’s a very deep societal issue, and people really need to dive into it and not look at it as a black-and-white issue,” she said. “I hope people can take this away: that substance use disorder is a mental illness and that people are struggling.”

National Recovery Month

Cathy Miles, also a co-founder of Framingham FORCE and chair of the organization, said people could personalize the flags placed on the common to pay respects to the loss of anyone they know of, and mentioned that it was a particularly somber event this year because it is the first time in three years that year-to-year overdose deaths have increased nationally.

September is also National Recovery Month; the theme this year is “Recovery is For Everyone: Every Person, Every Family, Every Community.”

Multimedia journalist Lillian Eden contributed to this report.

Alison Bosma can be reached at 508-634-7582 or abosma@gannett.com. Find her on Twitter at @AlisonBosma.