Wellspring Center for Prevention
Promoting Healthy Living Through Education, Training & Advocacy
Addiction News & Policy Update for Week Ending March 18, 2022
Breaking the Stigma Behind Mental Health and Depression
Let's Talk About It . No, really. While I've never bought into the stigma thing, I get it. However, my approach is to pretend it's not there, and it isn't. Either you control it, or it controls you.How to Invest Opioid Settlement and Federal Funding To Prevent Substance Use and Promote Youth Mental Health
Two national crises, the opioid epidemic and the COVID-19 pandemic, have accelerated recognition of the need for improvements in how we address the national emergency of youth mental health problems. Each has prompted new funding streams for substance use prevention and mental health promotion, both for direct and shorter-term improvements in existing interventions as well as for the more structural or systemic changes needed for a sustainable impact on the health and well-being of our nation's youth.
Some health care facilities in Massachusetts that care for patients after hospitalization are more likely to reject those with an opioid use disorder than patients who don't have the disorder, a new study from Boston Medical researchers finds.
White House Announces State Model Law to Expand Programs that Deflect People with Addiction to Care
The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) announced the release of the Model Law Enforcement and Other First Responders Deflection Act, a resource for states that encourages the development and use of deflection programs across the country. These programs are needed because first responders, including law enforcement, often do not have good options when encountering people with substance use and/or mental health disorders.
States Take Action to Address Children's Mental Health in Schools
The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated rising mental health needs among children and youth. In addition to experiencing the human cost and social isolation brought upon by COVID-19, many children have lacked consistent time in classrooms. School closures and shifts to online learning have limited access to educational and social opportunities as well as mental health services.