Ruth Paris Presents Keynote Speech at Safe Stations Forum

Monday, December 3, 2018

A daylong event in Nashua, New Hampshire was brought to a close by BUSSW Professor Ruth Paris, who gave a keynote speech to care providers, policymakers, and crisis responders at the 2018 Safe Stations Academy Conference.

The conference, titled “Innovative and Integrated Response to an Opioid Crisis,” was held “to highlight community resiliency while facing overwhelming odds.” The forum also served to introduce Nashua’s new Safe Stations program, which allows people struggling with addiction to access immediate care at any of the city’s fire stations.

Other presenters included Nashua’s mayor, Jim Donchess; the New Hampshire Harm Reduction Coalition & Panel; representatives from Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), the funder for Paris’ Growing Together study; and representatives from local, state, and federal agencies. Also in attendance from BUSSW were Ashley Short Mejia (SSW ‘18), research coordinator for Paris’s Growing Together study; BUSSW doctoral student Corinne Beaugard; and alum Melbourne Moran Jr., LICSW (SSW ‘14), Director of Integrated Care and Population Health for the Partnership for Successful Living. HRSA partnered with Harbor Homes, Inc. to host the event, which was sponsored by NH Healthy Families.