Lenawee Community Mental Health Authority

Apr

2023

WLEN Interview with LCMHA / Lenawee Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition Coordinator Madeline DeMarco

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 Madeline DeMarco. Madeline is the Community Outreach and Prevention Coordinator with the Lenawee Community Mental Health Authority, and she’s also the coalition coordinator for LSAPC in Lenawee Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition, which is what we are talking about tonight. Madeline, first off, thanks for taking time out.

Madeline DeMarco: Thanks for being here with me.

Kathy Williams: So we want to talk about the Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition. You’ve got several members, but you’ve got a meeting coming up and we want to invite the public people that are interested to attend the meeting.

Madeline DeMarco: Absolutely. Exciting things are really coming for the Prevention Coalition and we are inviting all of you out there listening to be a part of it. We’re almost done with a three year grant that helped us do some really incredible things to promote safe and responsible substance use in our community, and we’ve been hard at work making sure that we have everything we need to keep a lot of this great work going after that grant is over. And we know that we’re stronger together as a community. That’s one of our strengths here in Lenawee County. So we need you to help take us to the next level.

Kathy Williams: Exactly. You know, that is one thing that I think especially outsiders that move to Lenawee County are just totally amazed at a whole different way that people come together, they support each other. We’re very supportive of the different nonprofits in our agencies, in our area, and, you know, just helping anyone that’s in any kind of crisis. We, we really do a wonderful job with that. So what have you got coming up then?

Madeline DeMarco: So on May 3rd, we will be gathering with everyone who’s part of the Prevention Coalition, or who might be listening to this and interested in the work that we’re doing, from 8:30 AM to 10:00 AM in the Lenawee County Human Services Building. And this gathering is really going to celebrate everything that we’ve been able to achieve over the past three years and launch the next phase of the work. We know that our focus is really about creating a community where everyone has what we need to live healthy and fulfilled lives that aren’t defined by substance use. But we really want to know “what can we be doing as a coalition to get there? What are our biggest priorities here in our community? What do we need to know and what resources do we have together that we can, that we can share?” And that’s what we’re going to be figuring out at this meeting.

Kathy Williams: So I think that that is a very important thing to get people from all over different demographics, different lifestyles in our community because we’re always wondering how do we, how do we communicate with different people that are in different situations? I mean, we, we offer all these great things, but are we telling the right people? Are we connecting with the right people? And so this meeting then would be a way to find out some of those answers.

Madeline DeMarco: Yes, we know that substance use affects all of us here in our community, and we also know that you are all the expert in your own lives. And so for us to be able to meet your needs and priorities around substance use in the community, we need to hear from you about what those are. So whether you have a background in substance use and work in this field, or you’ve been personally affected by it, or just interested in creating a safer and healthier community for us to live in. We, we want to hear from you. We need you to do this work.

Kathy Williams: It’s not a lot of commitment. It is just help us learn more about ways that we can connect and eliminate, or at least help subside substance abuse in our area.

Madeline DeMarco: Yes. This first commitment is just an hour and a half, and from there you can be as involved or not as you want to be. So if you want to get involved in more of the projects you can, or if you just want to get on our newsletter and get, you know, an email once a month to learn the latest about substance use in our community, you can do that too. So there’s really something for everyone here.

Kathy Williams: Yeah. Sounds like a great meet. And again, it’s on May 3rd at the Lenawee County Human Service Building, which is on what?

Madeline DeMarco: Winter Street. Yep. And that’ll be at 8:30 AM.

Kathy Williams: Short commitment. Lots of information will be gathered. Thanks so much, Madeline. We appreciate you.

Madeline DeMarco: Thank you for having me. I hope to see you all there.

Woman’s Voice: The Lenawee Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition is 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.

Mar

2023

WLEN Interview with LCMHA / Pathways Engagement Center Program Manager Kellie Niese

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Kathy Williams: This is Kathy Williams and with me tonight is Kellie Niese and we’re going to be talking to you about the Lenawee Recovery Network. Kellie, first off, thanks for joining me and helping our listeners learn a little bit more about the Lenawee Recovery Network.

Kellie Niese: Well, thank you. I always like stopping by and seeing you.

Kathy Williams: It’s nice to see you too. So the Lenawee Recovery Network hasn’t been around for very long now?

Kellie Niese: No. So, the Lenawee Recovery Network is a website that we developed through a community grant that we have and we launched it last year on August 31st, National Overdose Awareness Day at the day of HOPE.

Kathy Williams: Oh yeah. In the… where that event is coming up again this year!

Kellie Niese: It is!

Kathy William: It’s kind of going to be a permanent thing. The last, what is it? The last day of October?

Kellie Niese: The last day of August.

Kathy Williams: Of August! Oh, I got us way late. Okay. Last day in August. So we’ll be talking more about that later this summer.

Kellie Niese: Yes.

Kathy Williams: Kellie, you’re, you’re tweaking it and making sure that things are up to date. Let our listeners know what kind of things can they find when they go to that site?

Kellie Niese: Right. Well, so what I’ve found is when I’m out in the community trying to get substance use disorder or addiction resources into the hands of people, that I have a lot of papers and people don’t necessarily know what to do with all those papers. And so we wanted to create something electronic.

Kathy Williams: Okay.

Kellie Niese: That was really specific to Lenawee County. So the Lenawee Recovery Network kind of spawned out of that. And it has exactly that: local resources to help with housing, transportation, addiction, sober activities, and treatment options here in Lenawee County.

Kathy Williams: Well, and you were talking with me off air about, so you can go to the site and you can say, I need food.

Kellie Niese: Right. Right.

Kathy Williams: And it, and there’s a dropdown menu then for food, or?

Kellie Niese: It is. We, we really took inspiration from people that are in recovery from substance use disorder and asked what they were looking for in that moment of crisis.

Kathy Williams: Okay.

Kellie Niese: Because it does, you know, you’re not in crisis on an island by yourself.

Kathy Williams: No.

Kellie Niese: And there isn’t just one problem usually when you’re, when you’re in substance use disorder or addiction. And so a lot of times people who are in crisis, they don’t have housing, they can’t afford transportation or lost their transportation. And so yes, that we, we incorporated all of that into the website. So if you’re looking for a food pantry, food pantries are there. Lenawee Transportation Authority is on there, and how to utilize that harm reduction information if you’re not familiar with that. Like how can someone get Narcan to reverse an opiate overdose? Syringe exchange, which isn’t available here in Lenawee County, but we give you instructions on how you can reach those services nearby.

Kathy Williams: Okay. Okay.

Kellie Niese: And so things to just make sure that someone that loves someone struggling with addiction or struggling with addiction themselves can easily in one space, find all of these resources.

Kathy Williams: Well, that’s the hard thing because when you’re in the moment, your, your mind is scattered anyway.

Kellie Niese: Right.

Kathy Williams: So, it, it makes a lot of sense to me that it is available for those helping others through crisis.

Kellie Niese: Right. Right. And so, you know, I, I’m a nurse by trade.

Kathy Williams: Right.

Kellie Niese: And so I always think when I had patients coming to me, I would love to have one thing that I could hand them that would, you know, comprehensively give them everything they needed in, you know…

Kathy Williams: One quick shot.

Kellie Niese: Yeah. And so that’s really what I had in mind for that.

Kathy Williams: Okay.

Kellie Niese: And so over this next month, you’ll probably see some of these posters spring up that highlight Lenawee Recovery Network and it will have a flow code on it, and it will tell a little bit about the site and people, you know, maybe doing their laundry at a laundromat in a moment of, of clarity might want to scan that and get connected to resources. Doctor’s offices will have those resources. Therapists will have those resources.

Kathy Williams: Okay.

Kellie Niese: Yeah, we’re really trying to disperse it in into the community, so it’s easily available. And if anyone’s like me, I’m last minute for anything. So in the moment, I might search “Lenawee Recovery Network”.

Kathy Williams: Right.

Kellie Niese: And get the resource that way, or recovery services. So we really are trying to reach people where they’re at.

Kathy Williams: And there is information then also on the site as far as if a person wants a face-to-face connection?

Kellie Niese: Right.

Kathy Williams: Those are on there as well?

Kellie Niese: Yeah. One of the really cool things about the site is it has… So Pathways Engagement Center is a part of Lenawee Community Mental Health and it’s right downtown. And it has peers in recovery from addiction there and so on LRN, there’s a whole page and profile of all the peers that work at Pathways, and it tells a little bit about their journey to recovery.

Kathy Williams: Okay.

Kellie Niese: And how you can connect immediately to them.

Kathy Williams: Oh, that’s wonderful because you do get the best support really, from someone who’s already walked down that road.

Kellie Niese: Right.

Kathy Williams: They, I mean, they know how hard it is for you. They really can connect with you better.

Kellie Niese: Yeah. And it, and it really is for anyone affected or impacted by addiction. So, for instance, there’s a page on there to remember someone that you may have lost to addiction.

Kathy Williams: Okay.

Kellie Niese: You’ll see me on there. My sister, I highlighted a memorial for her. And you know, there’s some YouTube programming on there. There’s WLEN interviews on there that kind of highlight some of the things we’ve discussed over the year. And then there is direct ways to get help through CMH if someone needs help immediately.

Kathy Williams: There you go. Well, it’s all about helping everyone that we can and we know that the road recovery is a tough one.

Kellie Niese: It is.

Kathy Williams: So, the more we can help with that.

Kellie Niese: That’s right.

Kathy Williams: Thanks so much, Kellie. Appreciate all the information.

Kellie Niese: I always appreciate you having me.

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.

Mar

2023

WLEN Interview with Pathways Engagement Center Outreach Coordinator Dawn Finney

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Kathy Williams: This is Kathy Williams and with me on tonight’s program is Dawn Finney. Dawn is a Certified Peer Recovery Coach and also the Outreach Coordinator with Pathways here in Adrian. Dawn, that’s the only hats you’re wearing, right?

Dawn Finney: Yeah. For, for right now I think that’s enough.

Kathy Williams: It is enough. So tell us, we’re going to talk a little bit tonight about upcoming social events that are happening at Pathways. Can… What’s, what’s going on?

Dawn Finney: Yep. At Pathways two times a week, we do have social events. They start at 9:00 PM.

Kathy Williams: Okay.

Dawn Finney: They’re free of charge and anybody can come.

Kathy Williams: Okay.

Dawn Finney: And for example, Saturday the 11th at nine we have the event of Coffee and Canvas. We just drink coffee, we, we paint. It’s kind of self-explanatory, and just talk and kind of relax and enjoy each other’s company.

Kathy Williams: Is that something you offer every month then?

Dawn Finney: Yes, two times a week every month.

Kathy Williams: Oh, there you go.

Dawn Finney: Yeah.

Kathy Williams: So if you miss this one, you can come to the next one.

Dawn Finney: Absolutely. Yep. And you can find all of our upcoming events on the LRN website.

Kathy Williams: Okay.

Dawn Finney: So, Tuesday the 14th, we have the Guest Choice, which means, you know, if you come in and you want to play cards? We’re going to play cards. We have board games, we can paint. We could watch movies. Whatever you want to do, we can do. We just find it nice to talk to people in a safe environment.

Kathy Williams: Right. Well, and even if you want to do nothing, you can do that too.

Dawn Finney: Absolutely. Just come on in.

Kathy Williams: There you go. Well, it’s, it’s good to be around like-minded people that are going through the same maybe social or psychological struggles and have that judgment free zone.

Dawn Finney: Yeah. Yeah. There’s, you know, there’s peer recovery coaches there. And we understand. We, we know there’s not a story that you can tell us that, that one of us cannot relate to.

Kathy Williams: Exactly. Exactly. What else do you have coming up?

Dawn Finney: On Friday the 17th, we have Music Night. Sometimes we do karaoke. We have a gentleman who plays guitar.

Kathy Williams: Okay.

Dawn Finney: It’s a lot of fun actually. That’s one of our most favorite things that we have. A lot of people do come to that.

Kathy Williams: So. . If, if a person wants to find out about these different events though, they can go on which website or Facebook page?

Dawn Finney: You can go to the Pathways Facebook page.

Kathy Williams: Okay.

Dawn Finney: You can go to the LRN, which is Lenawee Recovery Network page.

Kathy Williams: Okay.

Dawn Finney: You can go to lenrecovery.org.

Kathy Williams: Okay.

Dawn Finney: And then you just scroll down to, you know, find a social event and it’s right there.

Kathy Williams: Well, and the other thing is too, is that, you know, if you’re not a night person, you have other things going on.

Dawn Finney: Yeah.

Kathy Williams: You know, they can reach out at any time and find out other things that are available at Pathways.

Dawn Finney: Absolutely. It’s on the website. You can reach out. We are open every night from 8:00 pm till 8:30 in the morning. We are kind of there when other places aren’t open.

Kathy Williams: Right.

Dawn Finney: We, we realize that, you know, not everybody has emergencies or needs to talk from nine to five.

Kathy Williams: Exactly, exactly.

Dawn Finney: So life happens and we’re there.

Kathy Williams: Yeah. Well, and originally Pathways was just on the weekends, but now it’s during the week as well.

Dawn Finney: Yes, it is. Yeah.

Kathy Williams: Yeah. So is it just for people that are going through the issues or is it for their helpers as well?

Dawn Finney: Their helpers can definitely come and get information as far as like how to help and stuff. We also do distribute Narcan.

Kathy Williams: Okay.

Dawn Finney: You know, if you, a family member, or friends, if you have fears of an overdose happening or anything, just, you know, come on in and we can give you Narcan. We can teach you how to use it, and it could definitely save a life.

Kathy Williams: Oh, for sure. I mean, you, you hear more and more about how many lives, just having it available, are saved.

Dawn Finney: Oh, absolutely, yes.

Kathy Williams: So, it, it’s not a, a stigma to be prepared. It’s…

Dawn Finney: Right, right.

Kathy Williams: You know, it’s not saying that I know somebody who’s, you know, actively using. It’s, it could be a stranger that you helped save their life.

Dawn Finney: Oh yeah. I actually know somebody who does Boy Scouts and their Boy Scouts have it in their first aid kit at 12 years old just to have it. You never know.

Kathy Williams: Exactly. Well, Dawn, I appreciate you coming in and talking with us and helping us learn a little bit more about the social events happening at Pathways.

Dawn Finney: Thank you for having me.

Jan

2023

WLEN Interview with LCMHA / Lenawee Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition Coordinator Madeline DeMarco

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Kathy Williams: This is Kathy Williams and with me tonight is Madeline DeMarco. And Madeline is the Community Outreach and Prevention Coordinator at Lenawee Community Mental Health Authority.

Madeline DeMarco: Alright!

Kathy Williams: Yay. We got it. We got it. So, Madeline, you know, you’re so involved in the Lenawee Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition, LSAPC, and so, you know, we want to talk a little bit tonight about signs of overdose. You know, it’s unfortunately prevalent in our community that we’re seeing more people struggling with drugs and with overdose situations, and yet a lot of us might not know what to even look for. If somebody’s struggling, we might not know. So give us, give us some ideas of some things that we can look for.

Madeline DeMarco: We always like to use the acronym “BLUE” when we’re talking about signs of overdose that we’re looking for in our friends and neighbors and family members. And so BLUE stands for… the first letter “B” is for breathing, and so we’re looking for irregular or shallow breathing. Someone might not be breathing at all, or you might hear snoring or gurgling sounds coming from them.

Madeline DeMarco: The next letter “L” stands for lips, and we’re looking at the color of our lips and fingernails. So if someone is light-skinned, they might have a blue or purpleish tint. If they’re darker skinned, it might look a little bit gray on their fingernails or lips. And then “U” stands for unresponsive. And so that means if you give someone a sternal rub or you shake them or shout their name and they’re not responding, that’s that unresponsive piece.

Kathy Williams: Okay.

Madeline DeMarco: And then the last. E stands for eyes and we’re looking for small pinpoint pupils. And all of these things add up to be what could be signs of an opioid overdose.

Kathy Williams: And that’s scary when you come across that. I, I would imagine, you know, cause you, like you said, you really don’t know what could be going on. Is it drugs? Is that a heart problem? Are they having a, a seizure? Are they, you know, going into some kind of diabetic problem? And so, you know, the first thing to do is probably call 911.

Madeline DeMarco: Absolutely. The first thing you always want to do anytime you come across the situation when someone might be unconscious or not breathing, is call 911. Get professional help there as soon as you can. The next thing that you can do is we recommend that everybody have access to Narcan. Narcan or Naloxone, you might hear it known as, is an amazing life-saving medication because it can reverse an opioid overdose. So, if someone is overdosed and they’re unconscious, you administer Narcan. It often comes in like a nasal spray or an injectable, like an EpiPen. And it’s literally like waking the dead. Where it will revive that person and get them conscious, get them breathing again, so that they can be more stable until help arrives. The other great thing about Narcan is that there are really no negative side effects. So if someone is just unconscious for another reason or not experiencing an opioid overdose, it’s not going to hurt them, it’s not going to harm them. So it’s safe to use in any situation.

Kathy Williams: That was going be the question I was going to ask is, you know what, if you give it to someone that’s not going through that? They are also making Narcan more available. Now I know, I believe all the law enforcement cars carry it. Of course you have different drop-in centers that have it, and, and it’s available to get at different kinds of events or informational things. Where can a person find out more information about maybe getting some Narcan?

Madeline DeMarco: We have a list of places you can get Narcan on the Prevention Coalition website.

Kathy Williams: Okay.

Madeline DeMarco: That’s DrugPreventionLenawee.com. But it’s really available, like you said, in a lot of different places in our community. So groups like Community Mental Health or Pathways Recovery Engagement Center will do free Narcan trainings. So, they’ll teach you how to use Narcan for free and you’ll get your own kit that you can keep.

Kathy Willims: Okay.

Madeline DeMarco: There are also community events. Like Pathways has folks that go to First Fridays here in downtown Adrian, where you can get trained and get Narcan, and also second Fridays, which are held at the Adrian District Library during the wintertime on the second Friday of the month, where you can get trained. You can also access Narcan for free online. There’s a website called NextDistro. “Distro” like “distribution”. And you can go on and watch a quick video and put in your address and it’ll actually mail Narcan right to your door. So there’s a lot of free ways to get it in our community.

Kathy Williams: Yeah, that’s, you know, I mean, it’s one of those things where you hope you never need it, but might as well have it. Is there expiration dates on those or…?

Madeline DeMarco: Narcan is good for about two years.

Kathy Williams: Okay.

Madeline DeMarco: And then we recommend that people replace it, store it in a cool place, that sort of thing. But that’s really quite a while, and I recommend that everybody has access to it. I know I like to give it to all of my friends, family members because you never know, even if someone has a surgery, you know, where they might be on some pain medication or something, it’s, it can be easy to, to accidentally overdose on something. And so it’s like having, you know, a defibrillator or a Band-Aid or something like that around, it’s always better to be safe than sorry.

Kathy Williams: Well that’s great. Well, I sure learned a lot and I know, I’m sure our listeners do too. We really appreciate your helping to educate us a little bit better on signs of overdose and on the Narcan system. Thanks, Madeline.

Madeline DeMarco: Thank you.

Dec

2022

WLEN Interview with LCMHA / Pathways Engagement Center Program Manager Kellie Niese & Community Outreach Coordinator Dawn Finney

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Kathy Williams: This is Kathy Williams, and with me on tonight’s program is Kellie Niese, she is the Pathways Program Manager, along with Dawn Finney, the Community Outreach Coordinator. Kellie, you’ve got some really great things happening at Pathways and let’s learn something about them tonight.

Kellie Niese: We do. So, we are really trying hard with the HRSA grant and with the Prevention Coalition to build some recovery supports in Lenawee County. Recovery supports for people who have experienced addiction or substance use disorder, are in recovery from substance use disorder, or are just looking for help with substance use disorder. So, one of the things we’ve done is built the Lenawee Recovery Network, which is a website where you can access resources in Lenawee County. And on there you’ll find Pathways Engagement Center in our calendar of sober events.

Kathy Williams: And what a great time of year to talk about sober events. It tends to be a little bit higher drinking right now.

Kellie Niese: It is. It’s something you don’t think about that when you’re out of addiction or you’re out of your substance use disorder – what do you do when all your friends are going to a cocktail party or having Thanksgiving with alcohol? Like what are some of your options that you can still experience community and friendship but maybe not have the enticement of substances?

Kathy Williams: There you go. So, Dawn, you have been involved with the different sober events. Tell our listeners about how they are organized, how can they get involved in them? Maybe a little bit about one that’s been fun in the past.

Dawn Finney: Well, one of our funnest events that we have is Saturday morning. Sometimes we do like this big breakfast.

Kathy Williams: Okay.

Dawn Finney: And we make breakfast and even some of the people that come, they’ll bring stuff, and basically it’s just kind of like a little get together. Just coffee and talk and, you know, just, we just have fun. We enjoy people’s companies and it’s a really nice way to start the weekend.

Kathy Williams: And that’s right at the Pathways Center?

Dawn Finney: It is.

Kathy Williams: Okay.

Dawn Finney: It’s right at Pathways. We do eight o’clock in the morning usually, you know. Well, we start at seven.

Kathy Williams: Okay.

Dawn Finney: And then we have our SMART meeting at eight and we kind of go through that.

Kathy Williams: And breakfast with it?

Dawn Finney: Absolutely. It’s a lot of fun.

Kathy Williams: What other kind of events do you have?

Dawn Finney: I am planning a New Year’s Eve get together.

Kathy Williams: Okay.

Dawn Finney: Starting at nine o’clock on New Year’s Eve and I would love if people would come and join me. We are gonna ring in the New Year’s Eve clean, sober, and serene, and just have a good time together. Fellowship, we’re gonna have fun. And you know, when I was in active addiction, I, I was alone. And, you know, you don’t have to be alone anymore. Recovery is not lonely.

Kathy Williams: So the Pathway Center, they can drop in. What are the normal hours that they can drop in?

Kellie Niese: So Pathways is open every night, Monday through Sunday, 8:00 PM to 8:00 AM

Kathy Williams: Okay.

Kellie Niese: You don’t need to make an appointment. If you wanna attend a sober event, you can just drop in, but you can drop in anytime. There is a sober events calendar though, on the LRN – Lenawee Recovery Network – website. And, we have things from Popcorn Night, or Movie Night, not Popcorn Night, but movie night with popcorn, Spa Night, Meditation. We kind of, explore the rainbow of different things that you can do to take care of yourself and nurture your recovery.

Kathy Williams: That sounds like great things and Dawn, I’m sure that you’ll have a good, a good turnout for New Year’s. What a great idea.

Dawn Finney: I’m really excited about it and excited to meet new people.

Kathy Williams: There you go. All right, ladies, well, thank you again for being with us and telling us about some of the different sober events going on at Pathways.

Kellie Niese: As always, we love it when you have us by to talk about some of the new and exciting things we’re doing in our community.