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Forum starts conversation about addiction for West Springfield parents, students

Date: 2/5/2015

By Angelique Fiske
angelique@thereminder.com

WEST SPRINGFIELD – Concerned parents and members of the community came out to this quarter’s forum on Drug and Alcohol Use and Abuse at the West Springfield High School on Jan. 29 to discuss the problems and possible solutions in their town.

Among the supports were District Attorney Anthony Gulluni, Mayor Edward Sullivan, Detective Alissa Burke-Spaulding of the West Springfield Police Department and Chief of Police Ronald Campurciani. Speakers included Sullivan, Gulluni, Joanne Burke of the Western Massachusetts Correctional Alcohol Center and two recovering alcoholics and addicts.

Overall the message of the forum was preventative action, how parents can support their children without enabling and opening up a judgment free conversation about drug and alcohol addiction.

Campurciani said that West Springfield’s problem is not one that can be solved by police alone.

“I’ve learned that we can’t arrest our way out of a drug problem … By the time the kids get to us, it’s too late,” he said.

Instead of letting the problem continue to grow, Sullivan said that “grassroots efforts” like this by the C.A.R.E. Coalition are what will make effective change, but ultimately, “it has to come from the students.”

The speakers encouraged parents to be proactive in their conversations with their children. Burke-Spaulding said parents need to understand their role in the prevention and recovery processes.

“Don’t be that parent that says, ‘Not my kid,’ because it could be your kid. It could be my kid,” Burke-Spaulding said.

The consensus was that drug addiction is something that can impact anyone. Gulluni said it is something that all of Hampden County faces across the board.

“Hamden County is diverse. We have rural communities, urban communities and suburban communities,” Gulluni said. “An issue that is consistent in all communities is addiction.”

Campurciani echoed this, saying it goes beyond class, location or individual cases.

“There’s no one socioeconomic status or place that this hits. It’s everybody. It’s a systemic problem.”

Some parents brought up what they considered the over-prescribing of painkillers for injuries. One father said he received a full bottle of painkillers for a minor injury, did not use them and did not know how to dispose of them.

Painkillers are now considered the “new gateway drug,” according to Gulluni, something that teenagers can get ahold of, become addicted to and distribute.

Gulluni said that his office has begun looking into programs to properly and responsibly dispose of unwanted pills, something that he hopes will limit exposure of the drugs to children and teenagers.

“We are willing, ready and able to eradicate the drug abuse problem in West Springfield and at West Springfield High School,” Gulluni said.

Campurciani said that one part of that is to remove the stigma of drug addiction. He said that if a child is sick, the parents would be contacting everyone in their power to raise awareness, to get help and to let people know, but that is not the case when someone is suffering from drug addiction. Staying quiet, he said, increases the stigma that addiction is something to be ashamed of and not a disease.

“When someone is going down that wormhole of addiction, we don’t want people looking for the light at the end of the tunnel,” Campurciani said. “There are lights all down that tunnel.”

Jessica Marquez, a member of the audience at the forum, said that one way to do this is to increase the level of support in the community, even if you do not have children in the high school. She said to go to sporting events and look for the students who do not have family coming out to watch them.

It is small things like encouragement, faith and care that can help those who are suffering to be vocal about their needs, Marquez said.

“The more we come together as a community and lessen judgment, the easier it’ll be for people to ask for help,” she said.