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Date: 9/5/2022
MONSON – “Lights of Hope,” a resource, respite and remembrance fair for those battling addiction will return to Veterans Field in Monson on Sept. 18.
For five years, Monson resident Pamela West has organized this community event. Her efforts began after watching her son experience addiction.
Throughout his life, West said her son struggled with ADD/ADHD. As he got older, he wound up with the wrong crowd and began using heroin. West shared that addiction led him to jail for some time and in 2016, the year he was released, was the first year she hosted “Lights of Hope.”
She explained that the “Lights of Hope” event was created by a mother about 10 years ago, through a Facebook forum called “The Addict’s Mom.” West discovered this group when looking to educate herself on the topic of addiction. At the time she joined, there were about 95,000 members. Since then, she predicts that number has increased substantially.
West went on to say that every year, the “Lights of Hope” event takes place across the country, on the same weekend. “They hold [candlelight] vigils in every state across the U.S., the U.K., Australia,” she said. “We are not the only ones struggling with addiction.”
While this may be a worldwide event, West noted that Monson is the first and only Massachusetts venue that currently offers it.
During a difficult time, West shared that this event was her therapy. “I wanted to help other moms,” she said. In her first year of hosting the fair, only eight people showed up. The second year, there were 31 people and last year, over 250 people. This year, West is hopeful for a crowd of 350 people.
At the event, West said attendees can expect to see a variety of local resources, vendors, free food, respite for families, guest speakers and more.
Some of the addiction and mental health resources that will have tables set up include crisis intervention, Learn to Cope, Rick’s Place for grieving families and the Vanderburgh House, a sober house setting up around Hampshire County, to name a few.
West noted that the Monson Dart Officers and Hampden County District Attorney’s Office will also be setting up a table.
From 3 to 5:30 p.m., the resources will be available while other activities are ongoing. This includes a bounce house, yard games, a clown, face painting, tie-dying and more. Some food and drink options are hot dogs, hamburgers, ice cream and soda.
At 5:30 p.m. vendors will pack up and attendees will move to the other side of the field to listen to the guest speakers. West said she will start off by saying a few words, followed by this year’s speaker, Jack Perry.
She added that they will also have Sheriff Nick Cocchi and Ludlow’s “pre-release,” which are three inmates that have convictions associated with addiction attending. As they are on the verge of being released, they come to talk with attendees.
Nicole Willett, Monson resident, will be singing. Once everyone is done, the candlelight vigil will take place. West said the vigil typically wraps up between 7 and 7:30 p.m.
As West organizes this event on her own, she noted that the community assists by donating a variety of goods. For instance, Lombard Funeral Home donates candles and Heritage Hair Salon donates tissues for the vigil. She added that several local organizations have donated raffle baskets. With help from the community, West said it makes it easier to offer this event year after year.
To host this event on Veterans Field, West had to be approved by the Parks Department. In terms of funding, she also went before the Select Board and made a Gifts to the Town request in the amount of $4,000. West shared that she brought the funding down from previous years, as she did away with some unnecessary purchases. The board unanimously approved her request.
West also asked that the board grant her a portion of the opiate settlement that the town received from the attorney general’s settlement with Johnson & Johnson and the distributors of the opiates. She noted that the town will be receiving these funds through 2025. However, she did not receive a definitive answer from the board, as they have not yet received the funds from the opioid settlement for fiscal year 2022 (FY22). Once they do receive the funding, they will have to do an appropriation at Town Meeting to decide on how it will be used.
“I think it would be a really good spending of [those] funds because this is exactly what it’s for. It’s for reaching people in the community with resources for these addiction problems,” added West.
She noted that it’s not just addiction with opioids but includes alcohol as well as mental health and more.
Over the past month, West said four young men in Monson have died from an overdose. Experiencing the effects of addiction firsthand, West said, “It’s not something that’s easy to go through.”
She hopes to continue offering this event to show people that they are not alone in this fight. If “Lights of Hope” saves even one person’s life, West believes it is worth it.