BENNINGTON, Vt. — Southwestern Vermont Medical Center (SVMC) and the Bennington Opioid Response Team, with support from a state Community Action Grant and Catamount Access Television, present "Promoting Change: Creating a New Landscape for Individuals with Substance Use Disorder."

 

The event is scheduled at 4 – 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, May 4 and will air live on CAT-TV channel 1075 and facebook.com/CATTVBennington. It is free and no registration is needed.

 

This event is appropriate for people with substance use disorder and their families and anyone interested in decreasing substance use in our communities. Participants will gain hopeful insights on how they, their friends, and neighbors can navigate the transition from substance abuse to a healthy and happy substance-free lifestyle.

 

Author and Speaker Matt Harrington will moderate. Panelists include Pam Aulicino, Julea Larson, and Benjamin Lerner.

 

Aulicino is a registered nurse within Vermont's "Hub and Spoke" program for substance abuse recovery. In addition, she is a medication-assisted treatment nurse liaison with Southwestern Vermont Medical Center and a member of the International Nursing Society on Addictions.

 

Larson is the supervisor of Recovery Support Services with Turning Point Recovery Center in Bennington. Among her specializations are crisis counseling, substance abuse prevention, behavioral health treatment and services, mental health and substance use disorders, prescription drug misuse, and supporting and affirming LGBTQ+ your with substance abuse disorders.

 

Lerner is a Vermont-based composer, writer, and recovery advocate. He hosts CLEAN Jams, a radio show that airs at 11 p.m. Thursdays on WEQX 102.7 The Real Alternative. The show features sober Rap and Hip-Hop music and interviews with recovery partners.

 

The Bennington Opioid Response Team is comprised of more than 40 individuals from community organizations, including health care, mental health, recovery, government, law enforcement, housing, transportation, and prevention. Its mission is to improve quality of life by reducing the adverse effects of opioid use in the community.  

 

For more information on the Bennington Opioid Response Team and its efforts, contact Alex Figueroa, MPA, the community action grant project supervisor & care coordinator for Blueprint at 802-440-4280 or alexander.figueroa@svhealthcare.org.