[MA Bureau of Substance Addiction Services, Office of Community Health & Equity (OCHE)]

Want to receive updates directly from BSAS’ Office of Community Health & Equity (OCHE)? Email andrea.macone@mass.gov to join our distribution list!

 
<p style=”font-weight: 400;”>From OCHE & BSAS

<p style=”font-weight: 400;”>

🗓️ Join us on April 27 from 10am-12pm for OCHE Community Office Hours, featuring a presentation by the MASBIRT TTA team for a discussion about how the MASBIRT screening tool can be adapted and used in community settings to support people impacted by substance use. See the attached flyer for more details. Please note that since our usual Office Hours fall on Memorial Day next month, we will not meet in May and will resume in June.

 

🗓️ We are pleased to announce that the 2026 New England School of Addiction and Prevention Studies (NESAS) will take place June 1-5. Once again, the entire program will be virtual. Scholarships are available – the deadline to apply is May 5^th (make sure to read all instructions and use the Massachusetts application link).

 

🗓️ BSAS Women & Family Services team is excited to share an upcoming virtual event Seven Truths from 7 Stops! What Fathers in Recovery Need You to Know on Tuesday, May 19 from 9am-4pm in Worcester. Geared toward substance use service providers, this training doesn’t sugarcoat the realities fathers in recovery face. It brings you directly into their stories—the ones providers rarely hear and systems rarely make room for. Across seven stops, fathers speak candidly about what they need you to understand: how easily everything can be lost, how difficult it is to rebuild trust, and how often they are treated as a risk rather than a parent working to reconnect. Learn more and register here.

 

🗣️ BSAS is pleased to share that the proposed regulations for Infants with Prenatal Substance Exposure (IPSE) are entering the public comment period. This is a critical step in the process, designed to ensure transparency and provide an opportunity for interest holders, providers, and community members to share feedback before regulations are finalized. Please see the attached documents for more details, and DPH encourages all interested parties to submit written testimony to Reg.Testimony@mass.gov. A public hearing will be held on May 21 from 9:30am-12pm. To join call 888-282-9641 and use Participant Passcode: 2935420; to testify press: *1

 

🗣️  Proposed revisions to 105 CMR 168, regulation for the licensure alcohol and drug counselor (LADC), are also entering the public comment period. Information about the proposed amendments and public hearing are attached, including instructions for how to submit comments by April 27.

 

🗓️ Do you work in a BSAS licensed or funded program? Check out the upcoming virtual series Implementing a CLAS Self-Assessment and Workplan to Increase Equity in Client Services offered throughout the month of May. This advanced training is designed to support those responsible for implementing a CLAS Self-Assessment and Workplan for their organization or department. CLAS (Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services) Standards require effective, equitable, understandable, and respectful quality care and services that are responsive to the needs of culturally and linguistically diverse communities. Learn more and register here.

 

🗓️ BSAS is pleased to share an important free learning opportunity for healthcare, social service providers, and community organizations working (or hoping to work) alongside Opioid Treatment Programs (OTPs). OTP 101 for Community Partners: Collaboration and Connecting Systems of Care is a free, 1-hour webinar series, hosted by The Massachusetts OTP TTA (Training & Technical Assistance Center) featuring Dr. Ruth A. Potee. These sessions are designed to help community partners better coordinate care with OTPs. Register to attend on April 30 at 1pm or June 25 at 1pm.

 

👥 OCHE partners Support After Death by Overdose (SADOD) and The Sun Will Rise Foundation (TSWR) are working hand-in-hand to strengthen peer grief support services for peers in recovery in Massachusetts. Their new Recovery and Grief website centralizes information, resources, and connections for people with lived experience in recovery impacted by substance-related loss.

 
<p style=”font-weight: 400;”>From our partners

<p style=”font-weight: 400;”>

<p style=”font-weight: 400;”>🗓️ The Impact Center will host its 3^rd annual Living Out Loud Youth Mental Health Walk on June 27 from 1-5pm in Springfield. See the attached flyer for more details and check it out to participate in the walk or access resources, music, food, and raffles.

<p style=”font-weight: 400;”>

<p style=”font-weight: 400;”>🗓️ From our DPH colleagues: A storytelling training series will be offered by Root Cause Solutions Exchange coach and interdisciplinary artist JuPong Lin this spring, foregrounding ethical storytelling and the role of stories in advocacy work. The series will begin with an in-person workshop that introduces ethical storytelling practices, builds on Lee Anne Bell’s model of storytelling for social justice, practices telling our “story of self.” Learn more about this 3-part workshop series Ethical Storytelling and Stories for Advocacy, taking place on May 18 and 25 and June 1 in Framingham, and register here – participants must commit to all three sessions and a travel stipend will be provided.

<p style=”font-weight: 400;”>

<p style=”font-weight: 400;”>🗣️ Group Peer Support (GPS) will host a virtual Caregiver Focus Group on May 6 at 12pm. Participants will be invited to share your perspective, talk about the realities of caregiving, and help shape future support groups designed specifically for caregivers. Your voice will directly inform the development of GPS support group curriculum for caregivers navigating similar journeys, and a $25 gift card will be provided. Register here.

<p style=”font-weight: 400;”>

<p style=”font-weight: 400;”>🗓️ Whether you made it to OCHE Community Office Hours featuring the Credible Messengers Program (which had the largest number of community partners of all sessions!) or want to get connected to this peer-led re-entry program, check out their 1^st Annual Community Fair on August 19 from 10am-2pm in Hyde Park. This gathering is a wonderful opportunity for partners from all regions to come together, share resources, build new connections, and strengthen our community bonds. Register to table here and contact lornece.tull3@mass.gov with any questions.

<p style=”font-weight: 400;”>

<p style=”font-weight: 400;”>💰Funding Opportunity Alert for those focusing on food security and agriculture! Join the free Civic Roundtable to view this post with multiple grants available to farming and food access programs with application deadlines in April, May, and June.

<p style=”font-weight: 400;”>

<p style=”font-weight: 400;”>🗓️ RIZE Massachusetts invites you to an upcoming webinar Navigating the Storm: Effective Strategies for Crisis Communications on May 5 from 1-2pm. This 60-minute lunch-and-learn webinar will equip community-based organizations with practical tools to navigate uncertain times and respond effectively when challenges arise. The session will focus on helping organizations plan ahead, communicate clearly, and act confidently amid changing circumstances. Register here.

 🗓️

Did you know DPH’s Office of Local & Regional Health (OLRH) offers monthly local public health webinars?  These monthly online education opportunities provide timely and relevant updates on various public health topics for those working in local public health in municipal staff roles. Register for upcoming webinars here.

 

🗓️ DPH’s Community Health Equity Initiative (CHEI) will host an Elevating Rural Experiences in Data and Action webinar on April 24 from 10-11am.Learn how state and community rural advocates are using CHEI data to advance rural well-being – register here.