Members of Maine's recovery community yell "family" together Saturday during the Rally for Recovery in Lewiston's Kennedy Park. Many in the group live at The Travas Collins House, a home operated by Recovery Connections of Maine. Daryn Slover/Sun Journal
LEWISTON -- Hundreds turned out at Kennedy Park Saturday afternoon for the fourth Rally for Recovery. The event, created in 2020, brings together the many substance use disorder resources in and beyond the Lewiston-Auburn area.
Jonathan Knapp sits on a park bench Saturday during the Rally for Recovery in Lewiston's Kennedy Park. Knapp said he has his own issues involving trying to kick his alcohol habit. Daryn Slover/Sun Journal
Hosted by Lewiston Area Public Health Committee (LAPHC), over 20 nonprofits and governmental and nongovernmental organizations attended the event which provided food, music and entertainment for the crowd. Lewiston Mayor Carl Sheline, Auburn Mayor Jeff Harmon and Dr. Paul Vinsel of Spurwink, formerly of Central Maine Medical Center, were among several who spoke at the event.
Resources at the event included: Alcoholics Anonymous, An Angel's Wing, Better Life Partners, Blue Sky Counseling, Brighter Heights, Central Maine Medical Center, Church of Safe Injection, city of Auburn, city of Lewiston, Healthy Androscoggin, Liberty Bay Recovery Center, Maine Department of Corrections, Maine Recovery Collective, Maine Reentry Network, Mobilize Recovery, Nar Anon Family Groups, Pathway Vineyard Church, Recovery Connections of Maine, Recovery Friendly Workplace, Safe Voices, Spurwink and Working Fields.
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LAPHC chair Bill Wallace said the committee, created in 2020, began its work focused on subjects like lead exposure for children, smoking cessation and the impact of legalized cannabis on the public. When the COVID-19 pandemic came into full swing, the committee began focusing on facilitating vaccines and other health resources. Wallace said his predecessor, Stephanie Gelinas, came up with the idea of Rally For Recovery. Every year, the committee works to improve the event and connect people with resources, Wallace said.
Joe Hastings, right, gets a fist bump from Randy Beard while being adored by his mother, Annemarie Hastings, during Saturday's Rally for Recovery in Lewiston's Kennedy Park. Joe Hastings was released on Thursday from Maine State Prison in Warren. He served three years for drug trafficking. Annemarie Hastings said that her son was raised by a mother that was an active drug user. "For eleven years I lived with addiction at the end of my nose," she said. She picked her son up from prison on Thursday. Daryn Slover/Sun Journal
Vinsel used to work in Central Maine Medical Center's family medicine residency before moving and now works at Spurwink, which provides behavioral health care, substance use disorder services and other support services. Vinsel said three years ago when he gave the same address at Rally for Recovery, he spoke about the failings of Maine's medical institutions in dealing with addiction and overdoses. This year, however, he shared developments that have seen Maine's first decrease in overdose deaths in several years due to Maine's many recovery nonprofits, other resources and significant changes in how hospitals and medical providers react to substance use disorder.
The main driver in changes to medical practice over the past two years comes from a program called 1,000 Lives Campaign. Dr. Erik Steele of Maine Medical Center and former president of Maine Medical Association created the program, which has brought several major hospital systems together including MaineHealth, Central Maine Health, Maine General and Northern Lights, Vinsel said. The program aims to decrease the amount of overdose deaths by 1,000 over a period of five years.
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Nikole Powell, center, and Katie Barter, left, pick out handmade wood pens Saturday during the Rally for Recovery in Lewiston's Kennedy Park. Elaine Bilodeau, right, handed out pens made by veterans as a form of therapy. Powell is the house manager at A Hand Up, a Lewiston home for people in recovery. Barter is a resident at the home. Daryn Slover/Sun Journal
Hospitals are working with their departments on plans to treat addiction and how to offer care to patients, Vinsel said. Plans include many specific interventions in every type of care, from emergency services and primary care to dental and behavioral health. The 1000 Lives Campaign has also looped in jails and prisons, he said.
"What the 1000 lives campaign does is say that all clinicians have a role in decreasing opioid overdose deaths in Maine," Vinsel said.
Patients coming into emergency rooms with overdoses or withdrawal symptoms are offered treatment plans which include medications like buprenorphine, methadone and naloxone which help battle withdrawal symptoms. During hospital stays, patients already on a treatment plan should continue receiving the care outlined in their treatment plans rather than endure lapses in treatment.
"There's no excuse for a lapse in treatment. If they are not currently on medication for opioid use disorder, they should be offered medication, and if they accept it, they should be started while they're in the hospital," Vinsel said. "When they leave, they should be referred to a treatment program with an appointment date and not just given a number ... This is now the standard of care that all hospitals in Maine should be achieving."
Vinsel said in August alone, 75% of substance use-related emergency room visits resulted in treatment plans that include medications combating withdrawal symptoms. "Back when I was working at the emergency department three years ago, that number was probably 5%," Vinsel said.
Wallace added that all that hard work has amounted to a 16% decrease in overdose deaths. He said Maine is on track to see another 14-15% decrease this year.
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The fourth annual Rally for Recovery was held Saturday in Lewiston's Kennedy Park. Daryn Slover/Sun Journal
While overdose deaths are a statistic providing the medical community with something tangible to focus on, many are left wondering about how recovery programs are measuring and proving success. Recovery Connections of Maine CEO Jeremy Hiltz said the problem with recovery success is that it's largely immeasurable.
What one person looks at as a success, might look different to the next person, Hiltz said, adding that factors like housing, employment and health care can provide barriers in the road to recovery. "Some days it's about survival, about the small wins that you get in your life. 'I filled out the application' or 'I got a paycheck and I didn't spend it on drugs.'"
Hiltz said recovery is highly individualized with some finding themselves in a good place to aim for complete abstinence while others look for those small wins, small steps toward a stable environment that puts them in a better place to seek sobriety.
"It's still on the path," Hiltz said. "Success, to me, is when people connect with one another in the recovery process. That's success. So, an event like this can show people there's so many resources, peers and allies that can come together to have a good time, have a burger and break bread, and kind of just see each other on the human level."
Sarah Greaney gets a hug Saturday from Joe Williams after Greaney shared her story of addiction during the Rally for Recovery in Lewiston's Kennedy Park. Daryn Slover/Sun Journal
Sarah Greaney, in recovery now for nine years, said she learned substance use disorder is connected to core traumas and adverse childhood experiences (ACES). Originally from Bogota, Colombia, Greaney and her sister were abandoned by their birthmother and adopted. Despite the many opportunities afforded to her as a child and young adult, Greaney said she still "wasn't comfortable in her own skin." Alcohol and drugs became her coping mechanism, and as a result, she hurt many family members and friends and brushed with the law.
"You are worthy of recovery and sobriety ... (and) there are many paths to recovery," Greaney said. "Please remember that you are worthy of life, a human being with talents and gifts all your own. So don't sell yourself short ... And remember, the opposite of addiction is connection."
Related 'A generation gone: How opioids have fueled the surge in overdose deaths in the past 25 years' Related 'Maine's sixth annual Opioid Response Summit draws hundreds to Auburn' Related 'Maine records one of nation's biggest declines in overdose deaths' Copy the Story Link
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