Program Director Expands Outreach
By Luke Schmaltz, SADOD FEED Newsletter Editor
Kris Hoag is the Program Director for a Drug Free Community and the Chair of BOAT (Belchertown Overcoming Adversity Together).
BOAT has been in place since 2016,” she begins. “It was first established as the Belchertown Opioid Addiction Task Force. It was developed in response to the opioid epidemic. The founder’s son was injured while in high school, prescribed opiates, and developed a substance use disorder. Thankfully, he is in long-term recovery.”
“In 2019, the coalition expanded from an opiate task force into prevention, treatment, recovery, and harm reduction. They applied for and received a Drug-Free Communities grant through the CDC and the Office of National Drug Control Policy. When the grant came through in 2020, the name was changed to the current acronym.”
Creating Connection
In 2021, Hoag came on board as the first program director after Covid and took operations from aspirational outreach to a new level of community engagement and support. “Initially, there was a lot of pushback,” she explains. “You definitely need to build relationships within your community. We are fortunate, because our Chief of Police, Director of Public Health, and School Head Nurse are all in the coalition. Key leaders of the community are involved, and the more support you can get, the better.”
Among Hoag’s inherited challenges was the prevalence of stigma towards harm reduction. “Before I started working here in 2021,” she begins, “A coalition from an adjacent town came to the Belchertown farmer’s market to hand out Narcan. People took to the Facebook community forum to complain, and the things they were saying were appalling.”
Fostering Growth
Hoag stepped into her role and started reaching out and connecting with residents. “There were 18 members involved when I started working with the coalition in 2021,” she says. “We now have 65 active members. This is due to the capacity building we do in the community. We give out Narcan and information on prevention while partnering with the town’s Public Health Nurse who provides Narcan training at tabling events.”
“We provide training at the Senior Center on Narcan and safe storage of prescription medication and cannabis. Our deliberate involvement in the community helps build our capacity for effective outreach.”
Harnessing Resources
“Last year, we started distributing SADOD’s grief support materials to residents who have lost someone to overdose,” Hoag continues. “These are outstanding resources and helpful to people in need of effective information. In a recent tabling event in Holyoke, I couldn’t believe how many of SADOD’s grief booklets we gave out along with Narcan test strips. There is a huge need for these resources, and the message is getting out to the community.”