Leaders at the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital and Martha’s Vineyard Community Services signed off on a long-planned agreement this week that clears the way for use of the building known as the Red House.
Leaders at the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital and Martha’s Vineyard Community Services signed off on a long-planned agreement this week that clears the way for use of the building known as the Red House.
Several Islanders credit the medication known by the brand name Suboxone for successful, extended recovery from opiate addiction.
Martha’s Vineyard Community Services has spent more than a year working on a plan in collaboration with the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital to establish a new short-term outpatient care facility to cope with the problem and provide a new option for treating substance abuse.
Citing a community effort to counter teenage drinking, the Youth Task Force announced last week that a youth behavior survey shows a decrease in alcohol use by Island teens, though the rates are slightly higher than the national average.
But they also cited concern about a rise in marijuana use, saying that the legalization of marijuana has contributed to increased use by teenagers.
With prescription drug abuse increasing on Martha’s Vineyard, some Islanders are calling for a new course of action: awareness about the problem.
“One of the things we have to address is the use of prescription drugs,” said Tom Bennett, senior clinical advisor with the Island Counseling Center at Martha’s Vineyard Community Services. “It will take a whole community effort to address this issue.”
The Youth Task Force of Martha’s Vineyard has landed a $100,000 grant to continue its work combating risky behaviors among Island teenagers.
