Starting an Important Conversation about the Opioid Crisis

I would like to extend my sincere thanks to the more than 70 concerned citizens who came to the Opioid Forum last week. The presenters did an excellent job sharing their insights and experiences in dealing with this challenging issue. Community conversations such as this are incredibly difficult to have, which is all the more reason to have them. Too often when we consider addiction and the opioid crisis, we think of it as an abstraction, the numbers do not seem real and the headlines must be from somewhere else. The biggest take away for me was that many in our community have suffered in silence for too long. We do not think about our neighbors or the problems in our hometown. The message that I want to leave with people is that the problem is real, it is here in Windsor Locks and there are resources available.

Here are some of the resources we learned about:

• DMHAS Addiction Services Bed Availability ctaddictionservices.com.
• Other DMHAS and Regional Mental Health resources at ct.gov/dmhas.
• The Drop Box for unwanted or unused medications open 24/7 at the WLPD Lobby 4 Volunteer Drive, Windsor Locks.
• The Warm Hand Off, beginning in February started by First Selectman Chris Kervick, the Windsor Locks Police and St. Francis Hospital to streamline the intake process for people seeking substance abuse treatment.

These resources are just a starting point. We need to keep the conversations going and work toward building a more complete recovery network. We all have some homework to do. I plan on taking many suggestions from the evening back with me to the capitol and work more closely with our local town officials.

Scott Storms

60^th District

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