15 people supported the Recovery Town Hall on Wednesday, June 13, 2018 at the Cecilton Community Center.  5 residents of the area, including Crystal Beach and Earleville, were in attendance.  Although there were no town officials, first responders or safety officers present, citizens from around the County attended to show their support of our neighbors south of the Canal.

Local treatment representatives were Mike Massuli, Deputy Director of the Alcohol & Drug Recovery Center at the Cecil County Health Department and Patrick Webb, a Peer Recovery Advocate at ADRC.  Two employees from Recovery Centers of America (RCA) attended:  a driver in recovery and a Recovery Support Specialist, along with an alumni from RCA.  Lorri Irgang from Maryland Coalition of Families was also in attendance.  Two members from the Cecil County Progressive Caucus who support recovery were participants as well.  A mother who lost her daughter to overdose in Earleville attended along with the residents of the area.  People in recovery/sobriety and our supporters made up this Recovery Town Hall.

The group discussed the most current overdose fatality statistics available:  out of the 35 overdose deaths in Cecil County this year, 6 are from this remote area (1 from Cecilton, 5 from Earleville).  Recognized barriers to recovery are a lack of transportation to treatment and supports, zero 12-step meetings south of the Canal and no recovery housing.  Finding childcare while the parent/caregiver attends treatment is also a barrier that was discussed.  Online support meetings are not easily accessible in this area where wifi can be very spotty.

Solutions involved coordinating efforts to take interested people to meetings in Middletown, Delaware through Cecil Transit.  A resident talked about how this is currently a practice for seniors in this area getting their prescriptions filled.  Another solution is to approach RCA and ask for support with providing a place for recovery support meetings to occur regularly.  We talked about how and who to proceed with these solutions.

Mike Massuli trained 5 residents to administer Narcan.

Our next Recovery Town Hall Meeting will be held in Rising Sun, MD.  Always on the second Wednesday of each month.  Please join us and be a part of the solution in Cecil County!