New director settles into leadership role for BTI

By Kaysa Jalbert

Windham’s Be The Influence Coalition has welcomed a new Director, Patrice Leary-Forrey, to the team as it enters year eight of a 10-year grant awarded by the Drug Free Communities to help prevent youth substance abuse in the towns of Windham and Raymond.

Patrice Leary-Forrey is the new director
of the Be The Influence Coalition. She
will lead BTI initiatives in Windham and
Raymond to help deter substance abuse
by youth in the community.
COURTESY PHOTO 

“It’s been amazing so far,” says Leary-Forrey. “The community has been so welcoming and responsive to the program over the years. We have a great leadership team, and I am excited to work with everyone.”

Leary-Forrey says she has been working with other members of the leadership program to carry out on-going initiatives by the coalition in efforts to raise more awareness about substance abuse to the community’s youth, however the new director has some ideas of her own to implement as well.

“I would like to hone-in on prevention of protecting kids from access to substances,” she said. “A new initiative would be to offer lock boxes for families during the Drug Take Back Days that the public safety hosts.”

Drug Take Back Day, according to the official DEA website, encourages the public to remove unneeded medications from their homes as a measure of preventing medication misuse and opioid addiction. It also acts as a reminder to keep medications out of reach of children and locked away.

The lock box initiative would allow parents, grandparents, and guardians to keep personal products and medications locked and secure out of the hands of toddlers and teenagers.

“I'm going to be working hopefully with poison control and Maine CDC to help support that initiative and bring that opportunity to families,” says Leary-Forrey.

Until then, Leary-Forrey plans to focus on executing projects that are already in the works alongside her leadership team. Along with Crystal Aldrich, the Project Coordinator for BTI, they are working together on a youth mattering initiative with the Maine Resiliency Building Network, a program that focuses on community involvement in promoting mental health and well-being amongst young people.

Another plan includes a sequel event to the Jammin’ for Mental Health through the Arts event that was held in May 2023. Be The Influence organizes this event annually with community partners Maine Behavioral Healthcare and RSU 14.

BTI and partners have been hosting a series of “Arts of Prevention” events for years using different forms of art such as painting, music, film, and theater to help the youth express themselves and find healthy coping outlets.

“We will be there hosting other not-for-profits and Maine Health and we will be providing information and support to the families who might need resources in the community,” said Leary-Forrey.

The new director is now in week four of her BTI leadership role and has been keeping busy handling grant requirements, meeting folks in the community, and attending meetings. This week’s mission is to attend club meetings such as Youth Leadership at Windham High School as a means to meet the students and explore ways to support them in their everyday activities at school and to provide prevention education regarding substance use and advice about how to make good choices for themselves.

Leary-Forrey said she hopes to soon meet with the health teachers at Windham High School to bring in some evidence-based programming education into the health classes.

“I am so excited to meet the kids and to work with them and support them in their initiatives,” she said.

Prior to this new role, Leary-Forrey worked as a director for a nonprofit in York County for prevention of child abuse and neglect. She explains it was similar work just with a different focus but also required supporting parents and kids in schools.

According to Leary-Forrey, Be The Influence community coalition meetings will be held on the second Tuesday of the month at 10 a.m. in the training room at the Windham Public Safety building. It is open to the public to hear updates from the community and what BTI is currently working on.

Leary-Forrey grew up in a small rural town in Southern New Hampshire in the Monadnock Region called Fitzwilliam.

“It was a great place to grow up and shares many similarities to Southern Maine,” she says.

She attended high school at Gould Academy and later pursued her undergraduate degree in Psychology and English at New England College. Afterward, Leary-Forrey moved to California to study at Pepperdine University before transferring to Argosy University in Chicago where she obtained a master’s degree in Clinical Psychology.

Now, she is a mother of four daughters who are living in Charlotte, North Carolina; Montreal, Canada; and Paris, France. In her free time, Leary-Forrey says she enjoys lots of outdoor activities and sports, watercolor painting, vegetable gardening in the summer and listening to a variety of music and podcasts. <

Students go ‘Back To The Future’ to combat Maine's opioid crisis

Guest speaker Jacinta shares her story about
her own struggle with drug addiction during
an event Tuesday at Windham High School.
She is the subject of the 2020 documentary
'Jacinta' and has been in an out of jail while
trying to break free of the cycle of drug
addiction.
PHOTO BY LORRAINE GLOWCZAK 

By Lorraine Glowczak

More than 90 seventh-grade Windham Middle School students participated in a kickoff event to prepare for their Project-Based Learning (PBL) module entitled “Taking Back Maine’s Future III” on March 1 in the Windham High School Auditorium.

The National Anti-Drug Coalition local chapter, Be The Influence, sponsored the Project-Based Learning event and local radio celebrity of the 93.1 FM morning show, Blake Hayes, was the guest host.

Project-Based Learning is a teaching method in which students gain knowledge and skills by working for an extended period of time to investigate and respond to an authentic, engaging and complex question, problem or challenge.

This is Windham Middle School’s third year providing this particular initiative with the intent being to empower students to combat Maine’s opioid crisis from every possible angle. Using current data analysis and research, the students will examine the impacts of Maine's opioid crisis and make predictions on what the state might look like in the future.

The big culminating event that will both demonstrate a bright future that has overcome the opioid crisis as well as a dark future if it is not, will be held on the campus of Windham Middle School on Thursday, May 5.

Hayes began the kickoff by telling the students a personal story.

“My dad was a construction worker and an actor,” he said. “He even got a role on Saturday Night Live as an extra. My dad was an awesome guy who happened to be an addict and he died of an overdose. Maybe someone here might find the key to move forward in a positive way – and save someone like my dad.”

The event also comprised of an impressive expert panel including the following:

** Jacinta – The subject of renowned 2020 documentary and person in recovery

** Gordon Smith – Director or Opiate Response under Janet Mills

** Jonathan Sahrbeck – Cumberland County District Attorney

** Officer Matt Cyr – Windham Middle School Resource Officer

** Deputy Chief John Kooistra – Windham Fire Department

** Brittany Reichmann – A former Windham High School student and a person in recovery

During the event, Jacinta and Reichmann both shared their personal stories and all the panelists were available to answer student questions and share their personal experiences with the opioid crisis, inspiring students to take on the spring project with an unyielding determination.

This innovative PBL approach with which “Taking Back Maine’s Future” brings the opioid epidemic into focus for young teens gained national recognition with an invite to the National Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America, (CADCA) conference in Washington DC in 2019.

“This project is engaging in that it gives students a chance to tackle a real problem through data analysis and research,” WMS teacher AJ Ruth said. “Presenting our project at the national conference was exciting and has provided our team with more resources for this year’s event.”

Ruth said that the 2018’s Taking Back Maine’s Future springtime concluding event was a great success, with over 600 community members in attendance. This year promises to be even more impactful.

The kickoff event ended with a short clip of “Back To The Future” from which the PBL is slightly based. The short film ended with a quote by the character, Dr. Emmet Brown, “Your future hasn’t been written yet. No one’s has. Your future is whatever you make it. So, make it a good one.” <

Be The Influence Coalition promotes coping skills, positive choices with virtual programming

By Elizabeth Richards

Unable to conduct in-person prevention programs because of COVID-19, the Be The Influence Coalition (BTI) continues working toward its mission of “promoting community collaboration and positive choices in reducing youth substance use” through virtual programming.

COVID-19 has caused problems for kids in terms of engagement and isolation, said BTI Director Laura Morris.  Substance use, anxiety, depression and suicide are on the rise, so the coalition is trying to find youth engagement activities that, although virtual, offer youth ways to express themselves, building skills to counteract the adversity they face, she said.

Be The Influence Coalition is hosting a series of webinars 
for students called Empower ME through September.
A new collaborative dance program with Windham
Parks and Recreation is also launching in February.
COURTESY PHOTO

"The arts have always been proven to help kids’ self-esteem, emoting, exploration,” Morris said, so they created their Arts in Prevention series. In the fall, BTI worked with students in the Katahdin program at Windham High School, teaching them about Van Gogh and the ways he used color, forms and style to express his feelings, Morris said.  Students created their own art pieces while listening to “Starry, Starry Night” and these pieces were transferred into chalk art outdoors.

In February, the series continues with a dance program facilitated by Karen Montanaro. The program is part of DEA 360 Strategy, which “kicked off in Maine in December 2020 to provide lasting impact in communities by partnering with local government agencies, community organizations, schools, Drug Free Coalitions and law enforcement,” according to a fact sheet from the organization.  The dance program is funded by the DEA Education Foundation.  The dance program curriculum uses the Hip Hop dance style and incorporates messages about positive alternatives to drugs and gang violence, building self-esteem, teamwork and resilience. Eriko Farnsworth, Community Outreach Specialist for DEA 360 said, “We’re really excited to be part of Windham’s Arts in Prevention. It’s such a great concept.”

The Windham Parks & Recreation Department will manage the program.

“Windham Parks and Recreation is very committed to being an active member of the BTI coalition, with direct involvement geared toward youth engagement,” said Windham Parks & Recreation Director Linda Brooks.  “We are always open to any collaborative effort presented by the coalition that enhances the lives of our young people and provides them with healthy choices during their time away from school.”

The expansion is welcome.

“The youth dance program is a new type of activity for us to offer, but we are pleased to expand the breadth of our programming with the hope that we can reach more kids. Due to the DEA EF’s grant funding, the program is completely free to participants,” said Sarah Davenport, Youth and Family Coordinator for Windham Parks & Recreation. “The primary goal of the program is to provide youth with opportunities to connect with others, be physically active, and learn new skills while having fun during the after school hours. This is especially important during the pandemic when so many young people are struggling with feeling isolated.”

The dance program will run for 20 sessions, from 3 to 4 p.m. on Mondays & Wednesdays beginning Feb. 22.  Registration is through Windham Parks & Recreation at www.windhamrecreation.com or by calling 892-1905.

“We are pleased to have been able to put all of the pieces in place in order to provide this unique program to our middle school population,” Brooks said.  She added the department has successfully partnered with Morris and BTI in the past to bring a summer theater program to area youth and are looking forward to offering a similar program this spring. 

In late Spring, BTI will partner with Acorn Productions to co-facilitate a middle school theater seminar series. In the five-week program students will create a monologue and learn improvisational acting skills and techniques for presenting the monologue, Morris said.  The theme will revolve around what students do to cope and what makes them happy, so that the monologues will reflect hope, Morris said.

BTI is also presenting a webinar series for anyone in the community titled EmpowerME. Since the coalition can’t do a lot of the things they’re used to doing, she said, focus group participants were asked what their needs were, Morris said.

“Everybody came back saying we need help just understanding isolation, understanding coping skills, how do we reduce stress, how do we engage,” she said. “We identified the things that people really wanted help with.”

They then partnered with the City of Portland Public Health Department and the Maine Youth Action Network, which is part of the Opportunity Alliance, to develop the series of educational webinars. These webinars are free, presented via Zoom or Google Meets.

Most webinars are from 2 to 3 p.m. on the third Wednesday of the month. The February presentation will be on Feb. 24 because of school vacation week.  The series runs through September. Topics include vaping, trauma, art programs, grandparents as caregivers, restorative practices, conversation skills around sensitive topics, and the impact of social media.  

“The hardest part is that we offer them because people need them, but we don’t get huge attendance because people don’t want to be on another screen,” Morris said. She said that they try to keep webinars under an hour, make them interactive and easy to understand, and allow people to walk away with real tools to implement.”

The Feb. 24 webinar, “Not Just Blowing Smoke” will discuss vaping and youth use, vaping products and the chemical components, the adolescent brain and decision making, addiction, marketing tactics the vaping industry uses, and more.  Tips and resources for quitting, making healthy decisions and alternative coping mechanisms will also be offered.

Information on future webinars can be found on the BTI website (www.betheinfluencewrw.org) or Facebook page.  Participants can register by emailing Morris at director@betheinfluencewrw.org. <

Be the Influence and Windham Parks and Recreation create banner for skate park

Be The Influence and Windham Parks and
Recreation worked with student campers
this summer to  create a banner for the
Windham Skate Park. Displaying the banner
from left are camper Molly Nelson, camp
counselor Archie Medina and camper Cynthia
Flaherty. SUBMITTED PHOTO

By Elizabeth Richards

As the pandemic limits socialization among youth, the Be the Influence coalition continues to work towards its mission “to promote community collaboration and positive choices in reducing youth substance use.”

Providing healthy alternatives for youth is a key strategy, and coalition community partners play a big role in helping create opportunities for youth engagement.  This summer, campers at Windham Parks and Recreation helped finish a banner designed for the skate park.

BTI Executive Director Laura Morris said that the project was started with the goal of displaying it at the grand opening of the skate park.  The Parks and Recreation department had put together a skate park task force because they knew it was a good place for youth to be outside and making healthy decisions, Morris said.

"Even law enforcement had noticed that without the skate park, youth didn’t have an outlet, and so they were engaging in more risky behaviors than before,” Morris said. Be the Influence was helping with the skate park efforts and Morris said one thing they wanted was to get youth involved by creating a banner that would hang at the park. 

The idea came from a previous project, where BTI took a large banner to schools throughout Windham and Raymond and encouraged all youth to be part of it through health and art classes as well as after school. “When we did that, we saw a lot of youth come out of the woodwork that wouldn’t regularly engage in anything, but everyone could color” Morris said.

The skate park was a good reason to get kids engaged again, Morris said, but when COVID hit, the banner hadn’t been completed.  She contacted Parks and Recreation to see if their campers could finish it, which they agreed to do. “We all thought it would be a great way to engage youth,” Morris said.

Parks and Recreation Director Linda Brooks said that although the grand opening event where the banner was supposed to be displayed couldn’t happen as planned in the spring, the skate park has been open since June and is quite popular. The skate park efforts in the past couple of years were to provide something for youth who like to take risks and challenge themselves, Brooks said. “That is a healthier risk than some of the alternatives,” she said.  

Brooks has been involved with the coalition since she began with the department in 2015.  “We’ve tried to put a focus on keeping youth active in this community,” she said.

Their summer camp program, for instance, has a place for youth of all ages.  While some departments won’t hire high schoolers, she said, that is not a philosophy they share.  They offer a senior camper program for 14-year-olds, a CIT program for 15-year-olds, and hire students part time once they are sixteen and up.  This allows them to remain a part of that community all the way through, Brooks said.

Keeping kids involved and healthy this summer required a lot of creative thinking said Kaleigh Warner, the middle school camp director for Windham Parks and Recreation.  “Similar to previous years of summer camp, we pushed our campers to get outdoors as often as possible, but with a twist due to COVID restrictions to keep all our campers, staff, and families healthy and safe,” she said. 

“This summer we encouraged campers to connect with nature and to give back to the community,” Warner said.  Some of the ways this was accomplished was through exploring the cross-country trails and building forts; partnering with Toby Jacobs of the Black Brook Reserve in Windham to help clean up trails; and weekly scavenger hunts that required kids to collaborate and exercise their brains through puzzle/riddle solving, word scrambles, and hunting for clues both indoors and out, Warner said.

As a result of the pandemic and the lack of socialization, Morris said there has been a spike in both youth substance use and stress.  BTI had intended to offer programs in the schools around resiliency, refusal skills, and education about all substances in health classes, but that’s been put on hold.  Instead, Morris said, they hope to do a community event outdoors, with movies, activities around resilience, community building games and COVID safe physical activities, in conjunction with a resource fair to showcase resources available in the community.  “That’s what we’re thinking right now for the community, but we’re dying to get back into the schools,” Morris said.  “We know it’s a tough time for youth.” 

Be the Influence offers resources on their website, www.betheinfluencewrw.org,  for addressing stress and anxiety regarding COVID-19. <

“Life of a Student Athlete” presentation generates enthusiasm in the community

John Underwood

By Elizabeth Richards

Amid school cancellations, business closures, and messages about the pressing need for people to stay home and stay distant, it may seem strange to read about a large event held at Windham High School. But before the threat of COVID-19 caused such drastic measures, the Be the Influence Coalition brought John Underwood to the school for a presentation called “Life of a Student Athlete,” an event that was very well received in the community.

Underwood is the Director/Founder of Life of an Athlete/Pure Performance-Human Performance
Project.  He is a former running Olympian, a former coach of Navy Seals and Olympic athletes, among others, and a crusader for drug-free sports at all levels.  Underwood is internationally recognized as a human performance expert specializing in recovery, peaking training, and lifestyle impact on mental and physical performance.

BTI Director Laura Morris said that the kick-off of the spring sports season presented a great opportunity to bring a speaker with credibility who would be a draw to coaches, student athletes, families and the general community.

Underwood’s presentation, she said, really exemplifies the impact of any substance – from sugar to
marijuana to alcohol to cocaine – on the brain.  “This is not an opinion piece, this is a science-based, proven, evidence-based theory,” Morris said.  “The underlying factor is that we all need to be far more conscientious about what we put in our body and how it affects us.”

Morris said they had approximately 130-150 people scattered throughout the gym, with a nice mixture of coaches, law enforcement, student athletes, and parents in attendance.

The information presented was quite impactful for many of those in attendance. “The scientific research is very rigorous with a number of universities and medical facilities participating,” said Dave Packhem, parent and prevention specialist. Underwood emphasized many aspects of how powerful the brain is, including the connection between brain and body; the critical importance of sleep; the process of learning; the impact of chemical substances on the brain, body and basic functioning; the cumulative effect of using substances and how the brain learns to become dependent on them; and the brain scans that demonstrate how drugs and alcohol damage the brain.

“Mr. Underwood's presentation was incredible. It really opened my eyes on what it takes to be a great
athlete,” said Windham High School (WHS) senior Anthony J. Gugliuzza III. “Being in shape doesn’t just have to do with your physical capabilities. In order to compete at the highest level, you have to be willing to put in the time. You have to be willing to eat right and get sleep. Mr. Underwood didn’t just preach this, he showed us, providing us with statistics and real-life data.”

The brain scans comparing the brains of substance-free teens with those who have used substances were eye-opening for many. “These images were really cool because they highlighted the importance of staying chemical free, especially at such a critical point in our development,” stated Gugliuzza, who will be attending Endicott College next year to study pre-physical therapy.

The presentation has inspired him to change his personal habits, he added. “What he said, especially in regards to diet, exercise and sleep, stuck with me. I have already started practicing better training habits, and look to continue these in the future, so that I can compete to the best of my abilities.”
Town Councilor Dave Nadeau said the way Underwood tied everything together was outstanding. “His presentation was so complete and thorough. That’s what the key to the whole thing was,”
Nadeau said. When he spoke about the impact of various substances on the brain, “You could see the downhill curve of the loss of what you had trained for,” Nadeau said.

The presentation didn’t just focus on drugs or alcohol, making it even more comprehensive.  Underwood also focused on personal development. “The way he talked to you about the way you can develop and constantly get better, either as a coach or an athlete – he just sewed it all together,” Nadeau said.  “It was impressive.”

 The impact that this presentation can have in the community is huge.  “It’s important to the community to counter the messages about alcohol and cannabis with scientific facts, Packhem said.
“Too many people think these substances are benign. They are not. I hope we see a movement building to educate us to the real dangers for putting chemical substances in our brains.”

WHS assistant principal Phil Rossetti agreed. “It’s so important to have experts in the field in to speak to our community. It helps reaffirm the message and information that we are sharing with our youth. There are so many messages out there that confuse folks and make it seem like a substance is healthy for you, but in reality, it’s harmful.”

“I truly believe Mr. Underwood's presentation will have a lasting impact on the community. The way in which he was able to speak to us and our parents was truly inspiring, especially given all that he has accomplished,” Gugliuzza said.  “There are a lot of kids who aspire to be athletes growing up, and I think this will hit home. I think his message will not only impact the future generation but will resonate with parents throughout the community."

“If it helps one person make a healthier choice/decision then it was worth it. Our hope is that by
continuing to share information with the community we can be the influence,” Rossetti said.
“As a coach and educator, I/we encourage students to make healthy choices and to be prepared.

Preparation for learning is equally as important as preparation for an athletic event. This element often gets overlooked by many. The impact some “little things” like sleep have on us is unbelievable. The true way for us to see this impact is through science. It’s hard to argue the brain activity demonstrated in the brain scans when a substance has been inserted,” he added.

It’s critically important to provide this kind of information to youth, Morris said, especially since everywhere they turn, they are receiving messages that many substances are no big deal.  “It is a big deal, and it will have very negative repercussions for your future. If we can get someone like John Underwood, it really helps that credibility,” Morris said. “Youth are very undereducated, as are adults. We really hoped that parents would get the message too, and that’s why we tried to make it a community event,” she said.

BTI and Windham Area Clergy Association launch yearlong “Spreading Abundant Hope” Program

By Elizabeth Richards

When dealing with substance use and addiction issues, hope is something that can be in short supply.  This year, the Be the Influence (BTI) Coalition, in conjunction with the Windham Area Clergy Association (WACA), is working to change that. 

The “Spreading Abundant Hope” program kicked off last Sunday, with area religious institutions including a few minutes of information on prevention and hope for recovery in their services. BTI has given participating churches 12 talking points to use to spread the BTI message once a month all year long.

Laura Morris, Project Director for the BTI coalition, said that along with the talking points, BTI offers a resource information center for each church, which includes a range of materials on prevention and recovery resources. 

The initiative began last year, as the BTI coalition worked to better involve the religious sector in spreading the message of hope and prevention, Morris said. 

Reverend Tim Higgins of St. Ann’s Episcopal church is on the board of BTI, and chairs WACA.  Higgins said he invited Morris to a WACA meeting last year so they could talk about what they could do, as local churches, to be involved with BTI and do something that might make a difference. That’s where the idea for the Day of Abundant Hope was formed. 

“Each church found a way to use the pulpit to talk about a variety of services that each church could provide for substance abuse and addiction in the community,” Higgins said.  At St. Ann’s, a member shared her personal story and then Higgins talked about services available in the community, he said. 

Morris attended that service and was available afterwards to have conversations with members of the community.  She said she had at least two people approach her to tell her how much they appreciated the information, because they didn’t know where to go for help and didn’t necessarily want to talk about it with others. “That one day went over well and this year we wanted to do it more significantly,” Morris said. 

Higgins said that when they talked about it this fall, they discussed whether it was the most effective way to promote BTI in the community.  They decided that instead of a one-time event, they would create the year-long program where the message would be consistently shared throughout the year. 

“In the religious community, we believe that our bodies are temples of the spirit, and self-care is a really important piece of that. With that being the case, we fully promote folks taking care of self in this capacity because it aligns itself also with what we hear in scripture,” Higgins said.

The talking points incorporated into services, along with the resources available on an ongoing basis, will give community members important information about where they can turn for help.  “It’s not only getting the information out there but it’s making sure that they know there are local resources that are available to them,” Morris said. “The presence is right there in their church so as they’re walking out, they can grab it, but they always know it’s there.”

Morris said that the hope is that the program will spread beyond the five or six churches who participated last year and become region wide.  While that isn’t the case yet, she said, “If they’re doing it monthly it really doesn’t matter when they come on, as long as it’s kind of an ongoing presence.”

“We’re hoping to build on this event,” Morris said.  Future ideas include a 5K Run for Recovery, with proceeds going to help someone who is in recovery, as well as a healthy vendor fair to spread the word about resources in the community.

Although the current commitment is for a year, “The idea is that it will continue to sustain itself, and become an ongoing event,” Morris said. “If there’s a little bit of presence every month, in as many churches as possible, growing and growing, we could really affect a lot of people,” she said.

“Taking Back Maine’s Future”: Ending the opiate crisis

A panel of experts speak to the students

By Craig Bailey

On Tuesday, March 5, Windham Middle School’s seventh graders participated in an assembly kicking off the project, Taking Back Maine’s Future: Ending the Opiate Crisis. This second annual program was hosted by Be The Influence, whose Mission is to promote community collaboration and positive choices in reducing youth substance use.

The assembly featured Janet Mills’ newly appointed substance misuse expert Gordon Smith as well as a panel of experts from law enforcement and prevention including: Kevin Schofield, Windham’s Chief of Police; Jonathan Sahrbeck, Cumberland County District Attorney; Bridget Rauscher, City of Portland Public Health; Bill Andrew, Windham Police Patrol Captain; John Kooistra, Windham’s Deputy Fire Chief; Nicole Raye-Ellis, Project Coordinator for Be the Influence.

Seventh grade teacher Doug Elder kicked off the assembly sharing an overview that this project-based learning is developed to look into issues that are most impactful to the students. “We decided to take a look at Maine’s opiate crisis, viewing students as community members who can make an impact,” Elder began.  “We’ll educate together with Be The Influence, law enforcement, the medical field and state government. This is not only about information, but also transformation of our community.”

Be The Influence’s highly enthusiastic Executive Director, Laura Morris, offered a few opiate-related questions to students who eagerly provided their responses, which confirmed some basic understanding of opiates.

Gordon Smith reinforced how thrilled the Governor is with the school’s choice of this project and how honored he is to help launch it.

Smith stated, “The opioid crisis is about addictions. Finding out why people abuse substances.” He then asked, “Why are we educating about this at the seventh grade level?” to which he provided the answer, “Because that is the age people often begin abusing substances. It is important to educate now as you have your whole life ahead of you. You have the opportunity to help the State of Maine stop the biggest public health crisis of our time.”

Smith shared statistics to help the audience appreciate the magnitude of the problem, indicating that in Maine, “in 2017, 417 people died of an overdose. That’s more than one per day. Last year, 2018, numbers were lower due to the use of Narcan.” He further explained that Narcan is used for the reversal of opioid overdose.

Another statistic shared was, “of the 13,000 annual births in Maine, during 2018, the mother of 908 babies was an addict. Not only do we need to help the mother, we must also help the babies recover from addiction.”

A final, staggering, statistic shared by Smith was the number of people who died of an overdose last year in the USA: 72,000. Smith stated, “that means that in the time I’ve been standing here, at least 2 people have died of an overdose.”

Each of the panel members shared highly impactful perspectives. Schofield indicated, “Last year, in Windham, we saved over 30 people from an overdose, with Narcan.”

Sahrbeck offered a profound perspective by asking, “Is there anything in life you love?” to which students responded with: family, friends, pets. Sahrbeck then shared, “What if something could alter your brain to cause you to focus on (love) something else? That is what opioids do. They rewire your brain, changing your priorities, leading you down a path you didn’t realize you’d go.”

One of the most impactful perspectives was shared by Raye-Ellis, an addict in recovery for eight years, stating, “I was in your shoes. My school never covered anything on addiction. If they had done something like this, I could have seen a visual of what the path of addiction looks like.” A round of applause ensued.

In closing, Elder spoke directly to the students, “If you’ve ever asked, when will they start treating me like an adult? Well, it is right now. Simple answers to this problem will not work. We are going to talk through tough questions. There will be some difficult conversations. This will call for you to invest your time, energy and imagination. This issue is going to come for you whether you are ready or not. We want to make you ready.”

Queuing up the project, Elder relays, “The student’s job involves traveling through time via research and evaluation of current data and statistics, bringing newspapers back from the future: some from the bright promising future where Maine has defeated the epidemic - others from the dark and dangerous future.”

The assembly closed with the admonition, “What we do today and in the coming years to solve the opioid crisis; to help addicts, to find new solutions, legally, socially, and personally, will determine Maine’s future.”

New project coordinator connects with area youth through personal experience

By Lorraine Glowczak

Nicole-Raye Ellis

It is one thing for an adult to encourage youth to make wise choices in terms of alcohol and drug use, but the message has much more impact when it comes from an adult who made choices as a teenager that led her into a life filled with hardships and the death of loved ones – not one, not two, not three – but many loved ones.

Nicole Ellis was hired on Wednesday, October 3 as the new Project Coordinator for Be The Influence Coalition – an organization with the mission to promote community collaboration and positive choices in reducing youth substance use in Windham and Raymond.

Although Ellis holds associate degrees in both liberal studies and education from Southern Maine Community College, graduating in the top ten percent of her class and was a member and Vice President of Service with Phi Theta Kappa, the real contributing factor to her new role as Project Coordinator is her personal experiences that Be The Influence relies upon to encourage local youth to make wise decisions.

Ellis, a 2006 graduate from Gorham High School, knows all too well about how life’s adversities make choosing the path of mind-altering substances a way to escape and deal with the many harsh realities that come our way. “Although it is true that I was experimenting with various drugs and alcohol in my early teens, it was the result of being prescribed pain medication after a serious car accident that began my downward spiral at the age of 15,” Ellis explained. “It’s where my addiction began. Because I was feeling the regular teenage emotions combined with my family history of alcohol and drug abuse, I became addicted. I look back now and wonder why the medical professionals didn’t take a closer look at my family’s history with addiction before prescribing them to me.”

According to the Mayo Clinic, “Opioid painkillers are highly addictive. After just five days of prescription opioid use, the likelihood that you'll develop long-term dependence on these drugs rises steeply — increasing your risk of eventual addiction and overdose.”

Ellis explained that she was born into a family of substance abuse and alcoholism. Having the genetic make up and being prescribed a highly addictive painkiller, Ellis eventually fell into a crowd of friends who used and abused drugs which lead to both overdose and death of those she loved dearly.

She explained about her teenage experiences, “I witnessed many of my friends die from addiction. I saw my friend who was much like a brother to me, die of an overdose. I also had a few friends who died while drinking and driving,” she stated. This story does not include her step-dad who also died while he was drinking and driving. “And this is only the beginning and a snapshot of my young life,” Ellis reiterated.

Ellis eventually left Maine for two years, spending a year in Florida and a year in California before returning to her home state. Having some time away from her friends plus the announcement her brother made that he was going to have a daughter, Ellis made a conscious decision to move in a different direction. “I wanted to be a part of my nieces’ life, but my brother disowned me due to my life choices with drugs and alcohol, which I never blamed him for” Ellis stated. “Having a niece was the motivation for me to become healthy.”

In 2010, Ellis checked herself into Mercy Rehab. “The year 2010 is a special year for me. It is the year I became clean and the year my niece was born.”

As with any change one makes in life, it was not an easy journey. “I was lonely for the first four years after I became sober,” Ellis said. “I purposely chose not to be with all the contacts I had before who might pull me back into that lifestyle as well as any events that would remind me or had any association with drug and alcohol use. The thing is, I still loved my friends and I missed them a lot.”

She sought out new friends who had no experience with drugs to not only help her remain healthy but to see what life was like for those who didn’t participate or had very little experiences with mind-altering substances. “I was curious,” she said. “My experiences thus far had been so involved with nothing but drugs and alcohol, I had to see for myself what the other side was like.”

By choosing to take this path, she got to meet her daughter’s father who helped her on the road to sobriety and continues to do so. Together, they gave life to their daughter, Annabella, who was born in 2013. They continue to work jointly to provide a wholesome and productive life for their daughter.

In addition to the births of her niece and Annabella, another contributing factor that turned Ellis’ life around was the decision to be of service to others. “I began volunteering for organizations who help others such as Habitat for Humanity and the Ronald McDonald House. Serving others was a real-life changer for me and helped ease the pain of loneliness.”

Now, Ellis’ focus is to help area youth learn from her life experiences and is one of the reasons why the Director of Be The Influence, Laura Morris, chose Ellis to fill the Project Coordinator position. “I chose Nicole because of her passion from personal experience and understanding of addiction and how it can ruin your life,” Morris began. “She saw this position as an opportunity to share her story in hopes of helping others to make healthy decisions. She is also the ying to my yang and able to help with some efforts behind the scenes with accuracy and structure. This relates directly to our mission and will definitely have a positive impact of the youth we serve.”

Together, Ellis and Morris are working on a variety of innovative, fun and creative efforts to adhere to the BTI mission and to invite local youth involvement. One of those endeavors include creating a video.  

“Right now, we have a Public Service Announcement video contest established,” explained Ellis. “We are inviting all students ages 13 to 18 in the Windham and Raymond community to submit a one to two-minute video on why it is important to be a positive influence in living a drug-free life.” Ellis also explained that there will be chances to win first, second and third place prizes that will be donated by local business. The prizes will be announced soon.

For more information regarding other activities, projects and the organization, explore the Be The Influence website at www.betheinfluencewrw.org or contact Laura Morris at director@betheinfluencewrw.org. Donations for the video contest can be directed to nicolerayeellis1227@gmail.com.

As for Morris’ belief in Ellis’ contribution and fulfilling Be The Influence’s mission, Morris had this to say, “She is going to rock this – and blow it out of the water.”

Be the Influence youth members represented well in Washington by Elizabeth Richards

Meader and Bradford visit Senator King

Last week, Windham High School students Maggi Bradford and Danielle Meader had an opportunity to hone their leadership skills at the Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (CADCA) National Leadership Forum in Washington DC.

 

Bradford and Meader attended the conference as youth members of the Be the Influence (BTI) coalition, which is dedicated to reducing youth substance abuse in Windham and Raymond.  Coalition member Doug Daigle, the BTI Youth Advisor at the high school, and Project Director Laura Morris also attended.  

Morris said that the forum is an important way for the coalition to stay current on pertinent issues, such as the opiate crisis and marijuana legalizations. The youth component of the conference offered the students an opportunity to learn about these topics so they can bring the information back to the community. 

This was the first time the coalition has had youth attend the conference. Part of the conference includes meeting with senators and representatives to educate them on how important substance abuse prevention funding is. Morris said having youth present allows these legislators to hear firsthand what the kids are seeing in their own schools and neighborhoods, and how they are making a difference. “The main reason we bring the youth is that they’re a far better voice than any adult could be,” she said.  

While at the conference, the coalition members had an opportunity to talk directly with Senators Susan Collins and Angus King. “We really got a chance to showcase what it is we’re doing in the schools, what we’re doing in the community, and how important it is that they really fight for it,” Morris said.

Meader, a senior who has been involved with the coalition since her freshman year, said “The most important and powerful part of the conference for me was just to learn that there are so many other people that are also trying to help prevent substance abuse.” She added that the opportunity to talk with senators and representatives about the work they do, and hearing that they are supported in their efforts, was powerful. “That felt like we shouldn’t give up on this work that we’re doing because it really is having an effect,” she said.  

The conference brought together youth from all over the country, which allowed them all to learn from each other. Meader and Bradford had a chance to share the exciting things happening in their community, as well as learn what other youth across the nation are doing, Morris said. 

Bradford and Meaderm talk to Senator Collins

“It was really nice to go there because we got the chance to meet a bunch of other youth that had the same passion in their own schools,” Bradford said.  “It was nice to get to meet them and get to know what they are doing in their schools to make a difference. It gave us some ideas on what our next steps could be,” she added.

Bradford, who is a junior, has also been involved with BTI since her freshman year. She said that at the conference she also learned about collaboration and how they can work with other coalitions to benefit everyone.

Morris said that in the community, BTI has been doing a lot of peer-to-peer training, which allows high school students to then take the information to the younger grades. Bradford said she enjoys speaking with younger kids and letting them know that not everybody does drugs.  “It’s like being a role model to the kids, and I enjoy doing that,” she said.  

Bradford said that her favorite part of the conference was hearing other people’s stories, especially a high school student who was very empowering, she said, as he shared what he has done to make a difference. 

Meader said the best part of the conference for her was getting to meet others who have some real insight into the issues. “I think that’s what I’m most looking forward to sharing with other people in the community,” she said. She adds that she wants the community to know that the coalition is doing this work and she encourages anyone who hears about their fundraisers and activities to come out and support them.  “We always like to hear that other people are fighting for the same issues as us,” she said.

Morris said that she was very proud of how the two youth represented the coalition. “They were well spoken, they were passionate, they knew what they were talking about, and we were very pleased that they were representing us,” she said.

The Be the Influence Coalition has many ongoing activities at the schools and in the community.  Anyone interested in getting involved with helping to keep our youth off drugs in the community can contact Morris at director@betheinfluencewrw.org.

Be The Influence: A village that works together can move mountains by Lorraine Glowczak

Local youth have an active role in Be The Influence

It’s an African proverb that has gained popularity since the mid-1990s from the book title of the same name, “It takes a village to raise a child.” Be The Influence, a Windham/Raymond collaboration of individuals and organizations that work together to reduce substance abuse in the community is a successful example of that proverb.
 

The concept of Be The Influence (BTI) began in March 2014 as a group of Windham and Raymond community members joined forces to raise awareness and address the concerns of substance use and abuse. As a result of the Drug Free Community Federal Funding, the BTI coalition was officially formed and began to focus its attention on the youth within the community.

The BTI vision is to provide support and resources to students as well as communicate a consistent drug-free message, assuring students that they live in a community that cares about them.

The coalition is comprised of various members of the community that include: RSU14 staff and teachers, local law enforcement, town council members, the Sebago Lakes Region Chamber of Commerce, prevention and counseling organizations, libraries as well as community and business organizations. 

Coalition members join forces because they want to make a difference and influence youth in positive ways.

“We work collaboratively to educate, engage and motivate the youth in making wise decisions and practicing healthy behaviors,” stated Laura Morris, BTI Director. 

Laura Kulaw, otherwise known as L.K., is a Heath Teacher at Jordan-Small Middle School and one of the many coalition members who also acts as a youth resource representative. She feels passionate about being a positive adult role model. “I believe kids need positive role models and direction,” stated L.K. “There is a lot of conflicting and misinformation out there regarding drug use and I want to help them sort it out with accurate facts.”

L.K. also stated that she enjoys educating students and having them get involved to make a difference too. “If we can educate and give them an active role, they can speak to their peers about the effects of substance abuse.”

Aimee Senatore, Executive Director of the Sebago Lakes Region Chamber of Commerce (SLRCC) is also an active coalition member. “I am personally involved because I have young children nearing the middle school age and want to do my part,” Senatore explained. “I want to not only educate myself but empower myself and my children with the knowledge and skills we need to be a healthy and happy family. Professionally, it is part of the SLRCC’s mission to foster strong communities within the towns we represent. Protecting our youth from substance abuse has a direct impact on the quality of the workforce in the years to come and the health of our communities as a whole.” 

Windham Police Department Patrol Captain, Bill Andrew is also part of the BTI coalition. Andrew participates because he wants to collaborate with others in the community, providing a positive and consistent message to the youth. “As a police department, we want to provide the same message on the street that is provided in the classroom and beyond,” explained Andrew. “To do that, we work collaboratively with BTI and have police officers and drug experts speak to students on an interactive level in their Health Classes. It’s important for the students to see and speak to the officers on a personal level on issues such as drugs without feeling threatened.” Andrew encourages students to make wise decisions and to consider the long-term effects of drug and alcohol use. “Using drugs will affect a student’s academic success as well as their athletic abilities and other favorite extracurricular activities,” Andrew stated. “I encourage them to think about their future, three to five years from now, and where they hope to be. It is very important that they understand the impact drugs have on their brains.” 

Although there are many conflicting thoughts surrounding drug, and specifically marijuana use, there is overwhelming scientific evidence that marijuana use among teenagers and the effect it has on their developing brain is of major concern. The American Psychological Association (APA) confirms Andrew’s statement regarding the use of mind-altering drug use and the developing brain.

Most experts agree that the fully developed brain occurs around the age of 25 (some say 21). As a result, the brain is still “under construction” and studies indicate that drug and alcohol use have an effect on that developing brain.

According to the APA, marijuana shows some promise for treating medical conditions. However, “At least some of those benefits are thought to come from cannabidiol, a chemical component of the marijuana plant not thought to produce mind-altering effects. But there's a lot left to learn about this and other chemical compounds in marijuana. What's clear, however, is that marijuana's signature high comes from a psychoactive component known as tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). And evidence is mounting that THC is not risk-free.” www.apa.org/monitor/2015/11/marijuana-brain.aspx

The above study also indicates that, “heavy marijuana use in adolescence or early adulthood has been associated with a dismal set of life outcomes including poor school performance, higher dropout rates, increased welfare dependence, greater unemployment and lower life satisfaction.”

 

There are many ways one can get involved and make a difference in the life of the Windham/Raymond youth. “It’s a community effort,” Andrew stated regarding the importance of becoming a coalition team member. “From the Police Department to the school board to various businesses – it takes all of us to make a healthy community.”

Any individual or organization can become a coalition member. All it takes is a passion to make a positive impact, no matter your area of expertise. “It takes a village, and anyone can make a difference,” Morris said. “Your expertise and interest can move mountains.”

To learn more, check out the BTI website at www.betheinfluencewrw.org or contact Morris at director@betheinfluence.org.