 |
| Retired Judge Laura Mack |
Mack, long a staunch advocate for mental health care, took the helm of the Northwest Wayne County chapter of Families Against Narcotics on Jan. 1. Chapter founder and former president, Western Michigan University Cooley Law School Professor Lauren Rousseau, will serve as secretary of the group this year.
Families Against Narcotics (FAN) was instigated from a town hall meeting in 2007--a result of two teen heroin overdoses just weeks apart in the suburban community of Fraser. All told, that community suffered 30 overdoses that year, all due to heroin. Feeling the need to take action to help prevent needless deaths, organizers set out to recruit members and educate the public.
Today, there are 20 FAN chapters in Michigan, with more in the process of being organized.
The Northwest Wayne County chapter was launched in 2017 by a small group of individuals, all of whom had been impacted by addiction in some way. The chapter mission is to save lives by empowering individuals and communities through education, prevention and support. By partnering with treatment professionals, the legal community, public safety, schools, and other help organizations, the Northwest Wayne FAN chapter hopes to facilitate change in the way addiction is viewed and treated in the Northwest Wayne County communities.
The chapter hosts free monthly forums on the first Monday of every month, during which speakers educate the audience about addiction and recovery. The group also offers a bi-monthly meeting of a group called Stronger Together, which provides support to families affected by the addiction of a loved one. Forums and Stronger Together meetings are currently virtual in light of the ongoing pandemic. The next public forum, scheduled for 6:30 until 8 p.m. Feb. 7, is entitled “Enabling: What it is, Why We Do It, and How We Can Stop.”
Mack said she acknowledges that the last two years have been challenging for FAN, but is hopeful that 2022 will be a better year. Goals for the year include expanding the Hope Not Handcuffs program to more Northwest Wayne County police departments and continuing the recovery home scholarship program that was started in 2020.
Hope Not Handcuffs is an initiative of Families Against Narcotics through which people seeking treatment for addiction can go to a participating police station and ask for help. The desk sergeant then calls the Hope Not Handcuffs coordinator, who dispatches a volunteer “Angel” to the police department. The Angel then helps the person get into a detox or rehab facility. The Hope Not Handcuffs program launched Wayne and Garden City in March of 2021.
Hope Not Handcuffs is always in need of volunteer angels, Mack said. Anyone who wants to help can visit familiesagainstnarcotics.org and click on “Programs,” then “Hope Not Handcuffs.” On that page, click on “Become Someone's Angel” to be directed to training opportunities.
For more information or to become involved with the Northwest Wayne County FAN chapter in any way, contact wwayne@familiesagainstnarcotics.org. Information about the group can also be found on Facebook at NWWayneFAN or @WayneChapterFAN.
