A conference called Building Recovery Ready Communities, sponsored by 39 area Rotary Clubs and designed to encourage support, stigma reduction and employment of people in recovery is set for Sept. 8. Derek David photo/Portland Press Herald
Randy, Cora, Geoff, and Brittany will speak up on Sept. 8, telling their stories of recovery from substance use disorder.
The four are part of Building Recovery Ready Communities, a daylong conference on supporting and employing those in recovery.
The event is hosted by the Rotary Recovery Initiative Committee representing 39 Rotary clubs in southern Maine and coastal New Hampshire.
According to Kennebunk Police Chief Robert MacKenzie – also a Rotarian – in 2021 more than 107,000 Americans – family members, friends, co-workers, and community members – died from a drug-related overdose or substance disorder. Maine, with 636 deaths, ranked 11th in the United States for overdose deaths. New Hampshire, with 425 deaths in 2021, fared better, he pointed out, adding any death from an overdose is a tragedy.
“We must do better,” said MacKenzie.
The conference will feature a panel of business and community leaders who have taken actions to support and employ those in recovery. Doing so can be win-win for the employer looking for workers, and for the employee, MacKenzie said.
Maine’s unemployment rate in July was 2.8 percent, according to the Maine Department of Labor. York County’s unemployment rate was 2.3 percent, according to am Aug. 19 Portland Press Herald story.
Attendees are expected to learn to create a recovery ready culture within their workplace and community, opening doors to employment to people recovering.
The conference will highlight recovery success stories and ask – and attempt to answer – the question: “What can you do to save lives?”
Kennebunk Savings CEO Brad Paige is a keynote speaker, as is Margo Walsh, who founded MaineWorks staffing agency to provide employment for people in recovery or who have been incarcerated and are reentering the workforce.
MacKenzie will welcome guests and present” Impact of Substance Use Disorder: A Parent’s Story.”
Conference hosts encourage area business, community, and civic leaders and others to attend.
Those who wish may learn how to administer naloxone, which can reverse the effect of an overdose.
The conference is open to anyone in Maine and New Hampshire with an interest in recovery from substance use disorder. The cost is $25. The conference takes place at the Regatta Banquette and Conference Center in Eliot.
To register, visit https://rotary7780.myeventscenter.com/event/Rotary-District-7780-Recovery-Conference-65421.
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