Hartford Healthcare Behavioral Network Invites Public to Community Forum

From Hartford Healthcare Behavioral Network:

A free community mental health forum, focused on combating addiction and its stigma, will be held Thursday, Sept. 29 from 6-8:30 p.m. at the Asnuntuck Community College auditorium, 170 Elm St. Online RSVP is available.

The forum will be held with Jeff Hatch, former New York Giants player in recovery from addiction; Sarah Howroyd, co-founder of CT Heroin/Opioid Prevention and Education (HOPE) Initiative; Jennifer Kelly, founder of Justice’s Fight; Karen Colt, LADC, program director at Natchaug Hospital’s RiverEast Treatment Program in Vernon, and Enfield Police Department. It will be moderated by Patricia Rehmer, MSN, ACHE, president of the Hartford HealthCare Behavioral Health Network.

Jeff Hatch, a former New York Giants player in recovery, headlines a panel discussion on the opioid and heroin epidemic on Thursday, Sept. 29 from 6-8:30 p.m. at Asnuntuck Community College in Enfield. The free community forum, titled "The Time is Now," is hosted by the Hartford HealthCare Behavioral Health Network in partnership with Natchaug Hospital’s Joshua Center Enfield and Enfield Youth Services.

Hatch, who was drafted by the Giants in the third round of the 2002 NFL Draft, also spent seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and St. Louis (now Los Angeles) Rams before injury and his addiction ended his playing career.

Joining Hatch on the panel is Sarah Howroyd, co-founder of CT Heroin/Opioid Prevention and Education (HOPE) Initiative, a law enforcement-facilitation program where people with addiction are offered treatment rather than being arrested; Jennifer Kelly, founder of Justice’s fight, whose daughter overdosed from heroin and is now in a persistent vegetative state with no hope of recovery; Karen Colt, program director at Natchaug Hospital’s RiverEast Treatment Center, and members of the Enfield police department. Pat Rehmer, MSN, ACHE, president of the Hartford HealthCare Behavioral Health Network will host and moderate the event.

The forum will feature presentations from each expert on the opioid and substance abuse epidemic and will invite attendees to ask questions, share stories and discuss the stigma surrounding opioid use, how Naloxone (Narcan®) can be used to stop an overdose and where to find resources in the community for addiction and substance abuse concerns.

The event is part of the Hartford HealthCare BHN’s ongoing National Dialogue on Mental Health Series that is being held at various locations throughout the state.

Photo courtesy of Shutterstock