Representative Day Announces Forum On Sober Homes

A release from the office of State Representative Mike Day:

State Representative Michael S. Day, partnering with the Stoneham Coalition for a Safe and
Healthy Community, announced that he will host an open forum discussion focused on the role
sober homes do and can play in our community. The event, which is free and open to the public,
will be held at the First Congregational Church in Stoneham on Thursday, March 7 from 6-7:30 p.m. and will feature a panel of experts from the Department of Public Health, the
Department of Corrections and the Massachusetts Alliance for Sober Homes (MASH).

The forum is part of an ongoing series of community discussions focused on different aspects of
the Commonwealth’s approach to mental health. Previous forums covered topics ranging from
suicide awareness and prevention to how to best access the mental health system and what
resources are available to Massachusetts residents. In the past legislative session, Representative
Day helped pass An Act for prevention and access to appropriate care and treatment of
addiction into law. The new law takes proactive steps to strengthen community-based
prevention of substance use disorder and promote healthy behaviors, and to increase the “tools in
the toolbox” for desperately needed treatment and care.

“For too long, we as a society have refused to recognize that addiction is a mental illness and
about which we must speak openly,” said Representative Day. “Sober homes can, when
functioning as they should, play an important role in recovery and reintegration into everyday
life for those among us who are battling addiction.”

The discussion is designed to focus on a range of topics, including but not limited to what sober
homes are and what they are not, the regulations surrounding them, and the experiences of those
directly involved in running a sober home. The First Congregational Church is located at One
Church Street, next to the Stoneham Town Common.

The public is invited to contact to Representative Day’s office with any questions about the event
at (617) 722-2396 or by email at Michael.day@mahouse.gov.