Erin Rhoda | BDN Penny Joy, the house coordinator for Holyoke Haven in Brewer, is pictured at right having coffee with a resident who goes by her stage name, Anastasia Black, on Aug. 28, 2019. By: Erin Rhoda, BDN Staff Maine’s government will open up a pool of money in the coming months to help people with addiction find a safe place to live. It will be the first time the state has devoted funding to so-called recovery homes, after years of rising death tolls from the opioid crisis. But ... Read More ›

By: Selena Simmons-Duffin Researchers surveyed people about their happy childhood memories and found that those who had more were much less likely to experience depression later in life. Plenty of research shows that adverse childhood experiences can lead to depression and other health problems later in life. But researcher Christina Bethell wondered whether positive experiences in childhood could counter that. Her research comes from a personal place. In the 1970s, in a low-income ... Read More ›

Join Wellspring for their Annual 5K Race for Recovery on September 14th, 2019 at the Bangor Waterfront. This is a terrific way to celebrate recovery, show your support, reduce stigma, and offer living proof that recovery is real! Create a team! Wellspring would love to have families and friends and non-profit service organizations and local businesses create a team and come out and show your support for Recovery! Show them your unique style! Signs are welcome! Think: "We support ... Read More ›

By: Taylor Carins PORTLAND (WGME) -- Some Maine recovery service providers say this summer has been especially busy for new clients. "We turn people away from the Milestone Detox program because we just don't have enough beds," Milestone Recovery Executive Director Bob Fowler said. He says a large wrench in their capacity problems is a federal law that places restrictions on the number of beds in a facility. "It's part of what is called the Institute for Mental Disease (IMD) ... Read More ›

About 10% of the 35,000 Mainers who have gotten health care coverage since the state expanded Medicaid are receiving treatment for opioid use. By: Joe Lawlor, Staff Writer About 10 percent of the 35,000 adults who have gained health care coverage since Maine expanded Medicaid in January are receiving treatment for opioid use disorder. Health care experts have predicted that Medicaid expansion will result in 70,000 additional Mainers enrolling in the program by the end of 2019. If current ... Read More ›

Elise Amendola | AP President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally, Thursday, Aug. 15, 2019, in Manchester, New Hampshire. By: The Editorial Board Last week, President Donald Trump reiterated the flawed notion that mental illness is the root cause of gun violence in America. He then called for the reopening of institutions to house Americans with mental illness, suggesting they were too dangerous to be “on the streets.” This is a perilous scapegoating that falsely stigmatizes the ... Read More ›

Signing L.D. 775 would expand and restore much-needed support services for people with mental illness. By: Lori K. Garmlich - Special to the Press Herald Everyone deserves access to the health care they need to live safe and stable lives in their own communities. That includes mental health services. But here in Maine, we are falling short of providing that access. Our mental health care system is fractured, causing some of our most vulnerable citizens to slip through the cracks. It’s a ... Read More ›

Robert F. Bukaty | AP Governor Janet Mills speaks at a news conference in the State House, Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2019, in Augusta, Maine. By Robert W. Glover, Opinion guest column In the 1990s, Portugal faced a staggering opioid crisis. Roughly 1 in 10 individuals was using heroin; 1 percent of the population was addicted. Portugal’s prisons brimmed with those convicted of drug-related crime. High-risk behaviors produced public health crises, exploding HIV and hepatitis infection rates, ... Read More ›

By Deborah McDermott dmcdermott@seacoastonline.com    YORK, Maine -- In a new initiative to help people overcome opioid addiction, York Hospital is among the first hospitals in Maine to begin prescribing Suboxone -- a medical treatment for opioid withdrawal symptoms -- in its emergency department. “We knew we simply had to do more to combat the most significant public health crisis of our generation,” said Dr. Robert Hulefeld, York Hospital’s leader of emergent care. “We ... Read More ›

Survey to help Partners for Recovery program better understand beliefs, knowledge and attitudes about the disorder. MaineGeneral Health’s Partners for Recovery program is looking to reduce stigma and increase treatment for opiate addiction in Kennebec and Somerset counties. Stigma is a barrier to individuals with substance use disorder getting access to treatment and to staying in recovery. Program organizers ask the public to take a brief survey to help better understand beliefs, ... Read More ›