Andrew Collins of Farmington, left, reads the Remembrance Board Sept. 7, 2024, while Franklin County Recovery Center volunteers Shelbie Oliver, middle, and Kathy Bragg prepare a star for him to add to the board at the Recovery Rally in Meeting House Park in Farmington. Leo Goddard/Franklin Journal

FARMINGTON — The prevalence of substance use disorder in Franklin County is a problem that takes the teamwork of many to address.

During a recent meeting at Franklin County Recovery Center at 130 Quebec St., representatives of a volunteer group called Building Assistance and Awareness in Maine, or BAAM, and MaineHealth Franklin Hospital spoke with The Franklin Journal about the needs in the community.

Kristen Webster, program coordinator for the Franklin County Recovery Center, said support and funding can be challenges for the center.

“Someone has to take on funding, development,” Webster said. “There is a lot of work that has to happen behind the scenes.”

LeAnna Lavoie, director of community health, Center for Health Improvement in Farmington, noted that current funding for the recovery center includes “several federal and state grants in the tune of millions of dollars specifically to address the opioid epidemic in Franklin County.”

Among the funding is state funding at $50,000 per year, state opioid settlement funds through the Maine Recovery Council, and other sources such as grants.

“Healthy Community Coalition is under MaineHealth Center for Health Improvement,” explained Lavoie. “We are funded by the Office of Behavioral Health at Maine DHHS to operate our Franklin County Recovery Center. It is our staff that manage the center. As part of this initiative, we have an advisory committee that advises on the center’s policies, programming and services. Some of the BAAM individuals sit on our advisory committee.”

Finding qualified staff to take on responsibilities can be a challenge as well, according to Sarah Mulcahey, Healthy Community Coalition program management specialist.

“Even though you know there is a need, you need ‘proof,'” said Angela Samperi of BAAM. “Nine-to-five resources are great, but we need 24 hour ones too.”

At the recent meeting at the center, representatives agreed that there were many obstacles to recovery, including the need for employment, housing, and other accommodations, and the stigma surrounding addiction as well.

Eric Wright, who is in recovery, shared that the challenge that many others in recovery face with employment is that employers tend to want to hire people with open availability. This makes it harder to find a job for people who rely on meetings and classes like AA” or Narcotics Anonymous to make it through the day.

“Employers don’t want to deal with it,” he said. “They’ll say that they are ‘not a good fit.'”

Another challenge the community faces is a lack of a treatment center, said Amanda Dion of BAAM. “People have to leave the comfort of their homes, communities, families and supports to receive the treatment that they need,” she said.

On top of that, many people don’t have the transportation to travel to the nearest treatment center which is two to three hours away, she said.

Other obstacles to recovery can be the internal shame of recognizing the problem, but also external judgment. Some people look down on those seeking help and others refuse to acknowledge the need for resources.

“We need to shift the narrative, mindset,” Mulcahey said.

Though there is still much to be done, there are many local resources that exist for those who may be seeking help for substance use disorder. “Our community works well together,” Dion said.

The Franklin County Recovery Center has a variety of classes and meetings, as well as programs such as syringe exchanges.

BAAM offers resources such as transportation to treatment centers and appointments and access to food.

Franklin County Recovery Center information can be found on Facebook at facebook.com/FranklinCountyRecoveryCenter.

BAAM can be found on Facebook, contacted at 207-300-1026 or baammaineoutreach@gmail.com.

MaineHealth Franklin Hospital services can be reached at 207-778-6031.

Editor’s note: Because of a reporting error, an earlier version of this story did not contain important context explaining the recovery center’s funding sources and relationship to MaineHealth.