Committee Report - PHPS - 11-17-15 — File 200310

Public Health and Public Safety Committee Page 1 of 2 Printed 11/24/2015 November 17, 2015 REPORT OF THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE Attendee Name Title Status Arrived John M. Connolly Chair Present Mary Jo Rossetti Vice Chair Present Mark Niedergang Ward Five Alderman Absent Others present: Alderman Matt McLaughlin, Nancy Bacci - HHS, Dave Fallon - Chief of Police, Doug Kress - HHS. Corey Mashburn - SCAP, Patty Contente - SPD, Raquel Cerqueira - SPD, John Harding - SFD, JoAnn Rivieccio - SOA, representatives from the Ryan Harrington Foundation, Omar Boukili - Mayor’s Office, Rositha Durham - Clerk of Committees The meeting took place in the Committee Room and was called to order at 6:00 PM by Alderman Connolly and adjourned at 7:35 PM. Document List: • OPEN (with 199520) • COHR Model (with 199520) 199520: That the Administration prioritize a public health initiative to control the opiate abuse epidemic, including nearby health and educational institutions and any other available resources. Mr. Harding and Ms. Contente spoke about a four city collaborative that is working on 12 different strategies, including consumption. The collaborative is working with Cambridge Health Alliance; which offers some outpatient treatment. A document was distributed OPEN (Overdose Prevention and Education Network). There was discussion about a grant focused on policy initiatives and prevention. Mr. Kress informed the members that the Health and Human Services Department is working with the Superintendant of Schools. The city has applied for a grant to help pay teachers for their time. Efforts are being made to get the staff training, targeting 9 and/or 11 grades. It was reported that the Governor has been talking about this program and that over the last four years, the city has been working with the State Dept. of Mental Health.

Public Health and Public Safety Committee Page 2 of 2 Printed 11/24/2015 Ms. Cerqueira, an addiction coordinator working in the Police Department, has contacted people who are struggling with addiction to try to help them to stay in treatment programs. Somerville is taking a broacher approach on addiction and mental health than other communities and is trying to engage people in recovery. Mr. Harding gave a slide presentation dealing with a parallel initiative called NEXUS, Network for Exploring and Understanding Systems and reported that there has been an exponential rise in overdoses from 2009-2015. The program promotes comprehensive treatment, community based recovery, family support, home detox, (when it makes sense), and overarching recommendation to look at the whole person approach. Ms. Rivieccio talked about getting more information out to the community and recommends the city have more recovery coaches. There was some discussion about the Good Samaritan Law and Jesse Clingan, from the Ryan Harrington Foundation, said that it should be promoted by the city. Alderman Rossetti’s motion that the Administration provide the Committee on Public Health and Public Safety with the names of the Community Cabinet members mentioned in this evening’s presentation, was approved. Alderman Connolly’s motion that the Administration provide a financial breakdown of City, grant or other related funding sources relative to the matter of addiction, was approved. Chairman Connolly said this is one of the most important issues facing our community and that he would like the city to expend more dollars and resources on this matter. He plans on holding similar meetings on a monthly basis. RESULT: KEPT IN COMMITTEE