WOONSOCKET, R.I. (WLNE) — September is National Recovery Month. “America has a drug problem,” said Senator Jack Reed. “This is a national issue, a national epidemic.” As national recovery month comes to a close, Senator Jack Reed and advocates gathered Monday to honor lives lost, the progress made, and how to put recovery within reach for more Rhode Islanders. “The people that I left behind, the people that I shared needles with, they died from HIV,” explained CODAC’s director of mobile treatment, Hazel Hastings. “We do not want that to be the story of the citizens of Rhode Island.” CODAC’s mobile unit provides wraparound services for Rhode Islanders recovering from opioid addiction. “We are in a situation where people with problems, you can’t wait for them to come to you, you have to go to them. And that is why this van is so critically important,” added Reed. A recent report came out from the Rhode Island Department of Health, a public health advisory due to the ongoing, high rate of drug overdose in Woonsocket. In the past six months, the community of Woonsocket has seen a significantly higher rate of overdoses, jumping to more than twice Rhode Island’s statewide average. “I was disappointed,” said Woonsocket City Councilor, Brian Thompson. “I am not disappointed in the services that are being provided. It took us awhile to get the money out. I think over the next few months those numbers will come back down.” Thompson worked to successfully give opioid settlement funds to the Woonsocket prevention coalition. “We need to get them into counseling. We need to put this money to good use. The people that want to get off the opioids, we need to get them off the street and we need to get them into treatment,” concluded Thompson. This Wednesday Woonsocket mayor, Christopher Beauchamp, and the Woonsocket Community Partnership Task Force will be holding a press conference to release their report on housing and homelessness. Categories: News