Woman’s Voice: This special program is brought to you by the Lenawee Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition. Guests provide information about upcoming events, resources available, and the many ways to help reduce substance use and promote a healthy Lenawee.
Kathy Williams: This is Kathy Williams and with me on tonight’s program is Ben Trevino, and Ben is the Public Relations and Social Media Coordinator for a new group called FAN, F A N are the initials. Ben, thanks for joining us. We’re anxious to learn some more about the Families Against Narcotics group.
Ben Trevino: Yeah, Kathy, thanks for having me.
Kathy Williams: So, tell us, you know, and the group is in its infancy getting set up. Tell us what the goals and the future issues that you’re gonna be dealing with. How, how does this affect our community?
Ben Trevino: So, FAN is a nationwide network of different chapters in individual communities, and every chapter has its own stated mission and goals. But ours would be to fill in the gaps in some of the social services and figure out what exactly families need as a place to turn to first…
Kathy Williams: Okay.
Ben Trevino: When they’re looking for help with people dealing with, drug addiction mainly, alcoholism too. And just having that resource and being able to connect them with the appropriate people for treatment.
Kathy Williams: So, would they still start at LCMHA at the Lenawee Community Mental Health Authority, to get connected to FAN, or how’s that work?
Ben Trevino: Yeah, so they, they can start there and we might refer them there, but where they would really start is calling the FAN phone number, which we don’t have yet.
Kathy Williams: Okay.
Ben Trevino: We will soon, but we’ll, here or going to the fan website.
Kathy Williams: Okay.
Ben Trevino: And having that is just like, almost like calling what, what do they call it? 211.
Kathy Williams: Like 211.
Ben Trevino: Okay. So it’ll be like a 211 for drug addiction.
Kathy Williams: Okay.
Ben Trevino: So they can just turn to us and we can guide them through this landscape, which can be kind of tricky at first.
Kathy Williams: Yes. Well, there is a lot of, or there are a lot of resources in our area, but like with 211, it’s a good starting spot. So, it kind of gives you a big cafeteria choices of where do I need to go? What do I need to do?
Ben Trevino: Right.
Kathy Williams: So, FAN would be similar though for people with substance abuse issues?
Ben Trevino: Right. And then we’ll also have different programs which will implement harm reduction strategies.
Kathy Williams: Okay.
Ben Trevino: So, things have been shaping up differently, I guess over the past 50 years. We kind of fought a war on drugs and drugs won that war. So, we can congratulate them now.
Kathy Williams: Yeah.
Ben Trevino: You know, the, the idea was to lock everyone up and you know, it, it was so bad that even when they are locked up in prison, they’re still doing drugs. Like everything is just a wash and, and drugs. So, instead of locking people up, we’re looking for different alternatives that we can give, that we can reduce the harm that addicts are doing to themselves and to the broader society.
Kathy Williams: Right.
Ben Trevino: While driving engagement. So, seeing them more often as opposed to just when they come to the emergency room.
Kathy Williams: Right.
Ben Trevino: And being able to use those program to get them into treatment, just like a, a funnel them into the places where we need them. As opposed to waiting for them to get locked up or to, you know, show up to the emergency room with a, with a, you know, potential overdose or some other life-threatening thing.
Kathy Williams: Right. Or a court order for to participate in different things.
Ben Trevino: Right.
Kathy Williams: So you’ll, you’ll be able to better connect and walk beside them then to kind of help them navigate how to not relapse. And will they also help them to navigate how to go through detox and that kind of thing? Or where’s that line gonna be?
Ben Trevino: Right. So that will be more with the providers.
Kathy Williams: Okay.
Ben Trevino: The treatment providers. And we have a network, not locally, but maybe that’s something in the future, I don’t know.
Kathy Williams: Okay.
Ben Trevino: But you know, sort of in our adjacent counties, Washtenaw and Monroe, that we can refer people to. And then once they’re out of treatment, out of that residential setting…
Kathy Williams: Okay.
Ben Trevino: Then they’re back with us and we can refer them to the safe spaces like Pathways Engagement Center.
Kathy Williams: Okay.
Ben Trevino: Or CMH or InterConnections. These places where we know that they can go for support and just about any time that they need to.
Kathy Williams: Well, I’m the board president for Neighbors of Hope, and we have our men’s center, which should be opened up again soon. But we also have a women’s and children’s homeless center. And we take in homeless people who have struggled with addiction after they’ve been through their detox to give them that extra help that they need. So, this will be a great resource for, for groups like that as well.
Ben Trevino: Right. And part of that broader mission is making that allyship with all the different community partners. And right now, now that we’ve formed the Board as the first step, we have people from all different professions, you know, the police, the fire, the EMS, the legal, judicial system, the medical professionals, people in social services, former addicts, people with families of former addicts and all, everything, like it’s a broad spectrum of people from all different areas. And we’re looking to partner with just about anyone that can help us serve these broader goals.
Kathy Williams: Yeah. Yeah. And I think that that’s a great idea too, because then you’re, you’re not out to duplicate services. You’re out to help streamline the services to the people that actually need them at the time they need them.
Ben Trevino: Forming connections. Yeah. Yeah. And, and filling in the gaps.
Kathy Williams: Exactly. Well, Ben, you know, in the process you’re putting up a website and I’m sure you’ll have a Facebook and a phone number and all that stuff. But in the meantime, for our listeners to be able to send some information to you, how can they do that?
Ben Trevino: So yeah, we are in the process of setting up a Facebook group, a website on the national FAN site, and probably some other social media presences. But in the, in the meantime, if people want more information or just to offer some feedback about what they think would be pertinent to our mission and goals, they can contact me. And my email address is BTrevino, so that’s the letter B, and then T R E V I N O at L C M H A.org. That stands for Lenawee Community Mental Health Authority.
Kathy Williams: Well, Ben, I look forward to having you back on, you know, at some future date to get an update of how things have transpired and how effective the group is working within our community.
Ben Trevino: Yeah, I’d love to come back when we’re closer to launch.
Kathy Williams: Thank you. Thanks so much, Ben.
Woman’s Voice: The Lenawee Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition supported by funding from the Health Resources and Services Administration. Thank you for listening. New messages air on the second and fourth Monday each month at 6:15 PM. You can listen to this program as a podcast under the “on air audio” tab on WLEN.com and get more information at DrugPreventionLenawee.com.
