Sheriff Ashe honored for efforts to aid addiction recovery

Oct. 6, 2016 | G. Michael Dobbs
news@thereminder.com

SPRINGFIELD – Hampden County Sheriff Michael Ashe was honored at the annual recognition of National Recovery Month on Sept. 30 for his contributions in helping people recover from addiction.

Ashe said this was one of the awards he treasures the most.

“I’m here because you inspire me,” he told the audience of people in recovery as well as service providers gathered at the Holy Name Social Center.

The church’s former school is the location of Liberty Preparatory School, an alternative high school operated by the city that enrolls teens with substance abuse issues. The school’s principal, Dwight Hall, said the school’s 14 students are “emissaries to the community.”

He continued, “Recovery takes on so many different phases and faces.”

The school is one of five such high schools serving the region.

Hall saluted the students for their courage in coming forward with their problem and said, “We need to get the word out that recovery is possible.”

School Superintendent Daniel Warwick said, “We try to make sure every child gets that they need.” He added that education officials “need to keep looking for different solutions.”

Calling on service providers to collaborate with the schools, Warwick added, “We know public schools can’t do it alone.”

Mayor Domenic Sarno said, “We all have family and friends who struggles with substance abuse and mental illness, which is often misunderstood.”

Ashe reminded the audient that 17,000 inmates have gone through the Western Massachusetts Correctional Addiction Center’s program and he said, “We’ve got to do a lot more in our neighborhoods.”

The center will reopen Nov. 1 at its new location on Mill Street.

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