Come to a town hall event tomorrow to talk about preventing and treating opioid addiction

Operation Community SAFER
(Supporting Area Families to Enable Recovery)

A Congressional Town Hall Hosted by Congressman Bruce Poliquin
Tuesday, June 28 from 6 to 8 p.m.
Maine Hall, Eastern Maine Community College, Bangor
(Space limited to first 200 attendees)

Those on the front lines of Maine’s opioid epidemic say the most common call they receive is from parents who don’t know where to turn as they watch a loved one struggle with a substance use disorder. A recent statewide taskforce concluded that if families were better educated and engaged in evidence-based prevention, treatment and recovery, youth would be guided away from substance use towards paths of success and wellness.

Hosted by Maine’s Second District Congressman Bruce Poliquin, a founding member of the Congressional Bipartisan Task Force to Combat the Heroin Epidemic, this Congressional Town Hall will provide a safe, supportive space for families to come together and learn proven prevention strategies and local treatment and recovery resources so they can more constructively support their loved ones and communities. In addition to hearing inspiring stories from area families supporting a loved one in recovery, attendees will have time to talk directly with Eastern Maine’s leading prevention, treatment, law enforcement and health care leaders, and each other.

Participating organizations include Bangor Department of Public Health. Wellspring Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services, Penobscot County Sheriff’s Department, Bangor Police Department, Acadia Hospital, Family and Children Together, Day One, Penobscot Community Health Care, Health Equity Alliance, Maine Coalition to End Domestic Violence, Maine Department of Health and Human Services, and the Office of Congressman Bruce Poliquin.

The Penobscot County Sheriff’s Department and the Bangor Police Department will host a prescription take-back event on site. Please bring any unused prescriptions you wish to safely dispose of.

U.S. Rep. Bruce Poliquin participates in a group discussion during the One Life Project at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor on Wednesday, May 4. (Micky Bedell | BDN)

U.S. Rep. Bruce Poliquin participates in a group discussion during the One Life Project at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor on Wednesday, May 4. (Micky Bedell | BDN)