User:Piscespaul/South boston hope and recovery coalition

The South Boston Hope and Recovery Coalition was formed in 2002 through the initiative of the South Boston Association of Non-Profits and concerned residents to assist the community wide efforts to address the alarming and constant growth of substance abuse and addiction in the South Boston Community. At the Coalition’s inception, concerned residents and service providers convened with the goal of identifying promising methods of engaging the community to identify and intervene in those accepted norms which contribute to the problem of substance abuse and to advocate for treatment services. Our mission statement gives us four key areas, which the Coalition has prioritized, with special emphasis on heroin addiction. These areas of focus are: (1) Promoting education and awareness. (2) Advocating and fundraising for increased services. (3) Partnering with law enforcement and the court system. (4) Coordinating community efforts. The Coalition is one of 15 Neighborhoods Organizing Against Drugs (No Drugs) coalitions funded by the Boston Public Health Commission, the city’s health department. It is also one of a group of coalitions across the state receiving funding through the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (using SAMHSA CSAP funding) to address the problem of opioid overdoses in at-risk communities. After an extensive needs assessment and planning process, the Coalition completed its opioid overdose prevention strategic plan in January 2009, and is now implementing components of that plan. The mission of the South Boston Hope and Recovery Coalition is: “To free the South Boston community from the abuse of harmful substances and to promote healthy lifestyles amongst adults and youth.” The vision of the Coalition is: "That adults and youth of South Boston become engaged in healthy alternatives rather than substance use and abuse." What started as a committee of interested non profits has expanded into a coalition that is representative of the entire community. Over the last several years, law enforcement involvement has increased with the involvement of Boston Police District C6 and the Probation Department, housed in the South Boston District Court. With the development of the overdose prevention initiative, parents, religious members and other invested community members have become regular participants. The hiring of a full time coordinator in April 2009 has enhanced the Coalition’s outreach and helped bring in new members such as the Andrew Square Civic Association. Our efforts to expand have also included utilizing online social networking to reach a larger community audience. Our use of Web 2.0 resources has been effective at engaging the hard-to-reach demographic of younger adults. The Coalition recently partnered with the Youth Ambassadors from the South Boston Community Health Center to enhance both outreach to the neighborhood’s three public housing developments and increase youth participation in our work.