ROCKLAND, Maine — The need for recovery centers for people with opiate addiction is great, officials from across the midcoast area agreed during a Monday forum.
Rockland may get one if the efforts of a volunteer group are successful.
Police, medical professionals and social workers gathered Monday at Rockland City Hall to discuss the opiate crisis and the need for recovery centers in the region. Speakers said the community understands the gravity of the problem but also criticized Gov. Paul LePage for his comments that denigrate efforts to deal with addictions.
Jennifer Gunderman of Montville, who is a member of the faculty at the University of New England, said the governor’s criticism of the use of Narcan to revive people who have overdosed or his opposition to opioid replacement treatment makes it more difficult to deal with opiate addiction.
Jasmin Pike, a member of the Knox County Recovery Coalition, said she is in recovery and agreed with Gunderman.
“Every time he opens his mouth, we have to fight the damage,” she said.
Pike said a member of the community has offered to donate some space in a building on Old County Road for a recovery center. She and Dr. Ira Mandel, another member of the recovery coalition, were going to tour the building this week, she said.
The center would be a location for people in recovery to drop by and meet with others in the same situation and get information on what services are available. The center could provide rooms for support groups to meet and could be a place to pick up transportation vouchers to get to some services, Pike said.
Details about additional services that might be provided were not released.
Sagadahoc County Sheriff Joel Merry said a clearinghouse is needed where people can find out what services are available at the grass-root levels. In addition to recovery centers, he said a place for people to get assistance with job training and housing is needed.
“They need these services to get out of the lifestyle they’re trying to escape,” the sheriff said.
The four counties of the midcoast area — Sagadahoc, Lincoln, Knox and Waldo — are different, he said, and peninsulas within those communities have different needs. Speakers also said transportation is one of the most pressing needs to get to services.
“We have to recognize that there is not a one-size-fits-all solution. There is no single silver bullet to the opiate epidemic,” he said.
Rockland Police Chief Bruce Boucher said the department and the Knox County Community Health Coalition have received a grant to provide after school programs for low-income families. He said this type of support also is needed to assist families in which someone has an addiction.