Stephanie Rozen, LCSW, CASAC, director of Addiction Information and Management Strategies at Columbia University Medical Center, presented “Utilizing Harm Reduction Strategies to Support People Who Use Drugs.”
The inaugural Discover of Recovery Symposium at Mount Saint Mary College brought together leaders in the field to discuss community outreach and education on vital addiction issues.
The event was a joint venture between the Mount and the Resource Recovery Center of Orange County (RRCOOC), in collaboration with several local, state, and national sponsors. Experts from a variety of organizations discussed substance use disorders and how we can turn the tide of the addiction epidemic.
After an introduction by James Simpson, MPH, CHES, Community Outreach Specialist at RROOC, keynote speaker Stephanie Rozen, LCSW, CASAC, director of Addiction Information and Management Strategies at Columbia University Medical Center, presented “Utilizing Harm Reduction Strategies to Support People Who Use Drugs.”
Rozen described the opioid crisis in America as “a wildfire. This is not a fire extinguisher situation. We need a flyover approach.”
She defines harm reduction as including a spectrum of strategies, such as managed use and abstinence; a framework for understanding structural inequalities like homophobia, racism, and poverty; and meeting people “where they’re at,” but not leaving them there.
Other presentations included:
- “Defining Harm Reduction and How It Works to Save Lives” with Rozen; Helen Cano, Harm Reduction Specialist, SAMADHI; Abigail Goldberg, Recovery Team Leader at Independent Living; and Dr. Kurt Grovenburgh, certified/licensed addictionologist
- “Music in Recovery” with singer/songwriter John Dillion
- “Developing Programs to Meet Individual Needs” with James E. Conklin, executive director of ADAC; Aron Chapyak and Amber Mansfield of the SAMADHI Doula program; Brendan Kavanaugh, chief clinical officer at RRCOOC; and Julianah Abimbola Ogundimu, MSW, Ulster County ORACLE
- “‘Peer’-ing into The Future of Treatment (and Why It Works) – Using Peer Counselors to Connect with Present Clients with James E. Conklin, executive director of ADAC; Scott Curry, CRPA, NYCPS-P, Independent Living; Leigh-Ann Davies, LMSW, Catholic Charities; and Maria Kavouras, assistant executive director of Respite Services, People-USA
- Falling Between the Cracks (and How to Fill Those Gaps) with Steve D’Agata, Chief of Police, Liberty Police Department; Annette Kahrs, CARC, program director, Hope Not Handcuffs; Kevin Lundell and Detective Albert Babcock, Ulster County ORACLE; and Gavin T. Walters Sr., MSW, Ulster County Vet 2 Vet director
- Creating a Re-integrated Community of Recovery with Leigh-Ann Davies, LMSW, Catholic Charities; Maria Kavouras, assistant executive director of Respite Services, People-USA; and Barbara Zeko, SAMSHA Re-entry Program Director