On this episode, we speak to 1st Selectmen Mike Freda North Haven, CT, and Matt Hoey Guilford, CT.

Join us as we talk about the life changing and life saving work of the APT Foundation and the impact of local clinics providing vital services within the community.

The APT Foundation has been committed to the promotion of health and recovery since 1970.

www.aptfoundation.org

Welcome to the latest episode of Open Access Open Mic, the podcast with the Apt Foundation. The Apt Foundation is here to help employers, communities, and families care for people who may be living with opioid or other substance use disorders, serving the greater New Haven community through an evidence based open access model.

Get in touch with us to find out more at aptfoundation. org. Welcome along to the latest episode of Open Access Open Mic, the podcast brought to you by the APT Foundation. On this episode, we're going to be discussing the topic of establishing community based clinics to treat opioid and other substance use disorders.

And I'm going to be speaking with two very special guests. I've got Michael Frieda, who is the first Selectman of North Haven, Connecticut, and Matt Hoy, the first Selectman of Guilford, Connecticut. Now, of 169 cities and towns in Connecticut, even residents of the state could often do with a bit of a geography lesson.

Uh, congratulations by the way, on beginning your eighth term after running unopposed in the election earlier this month, and now at the present time. Guildford is stewarding APT's latest proposal for a new clinic through its approval processes. So, it seems these two esteemed guests are united by their investment in substance use treatment and mental health treatment in their communities.

Over the past 10 years or so, APT has been engaged in a strategic planning process according to remarks published by its CEO and President, Lynn Madden. As a result, APT has been advocating for clinics to be established closer to where people live. We're going to springboard off the North Haven experience and give some insight or perhaps even a preview into what Guilford can expect from a clinic in terms of community benefit.

So gentlemen without further ado, welcome to Open Access Open Mic. Good morning. It's great to have you here today guys, so let's kick it off. Michael, let's start with you if I may. How has the issue of substance use been affecting the North Haven community prior to the apps coming

in? When I first took office, it was something that was in the shadows in this community.

We had a parent who had children who had substance use disorder problems. So we offered them to come in. We were trying to put together some services prior to AAPT. And we were told, please do not tell us how to parent our children. One year later. That mother reached out for us, and the problem with one of her children had exacerbated so badly, they were just screaming for help.

We brought that person in, and around that same time, Lynn Madden came to see me. So I realized very quickly, in my first couple of years in office, that I had to somehow, tactfully, gradually, and symmetrically in the community, bring this issue forward, and try to convince people this is nothing to be ashamed of.

And that's how it started here at NorthAle.

Yeah, massively. That shame is huge. Tell me a little bit about how you took those first steps, I guess, into working with Lynn and establishing the clinic. You know, and what was the reaction from the local community at the time? So it

first started where Lynn reached out for me, came in to see me, and there was a old nursing home that had gone out of business on Route 22.

It was called Clintonville Manor. And Lynn came to see me, she was thinking of purchasing it and wanted my thoughts. She came in, we had a very nice discussion. And I said to her that I think it's going to be a problem, because that nursing home, to put an app foundation there, a methadone clinic, I just knew that the residents would really come out against it.

And I tried to describe how important I thought the facility was here at North Haven, but the reality was, right in the middle of homes and residents, it would really be a problem. And I'll never forget what happened. Lynn said to me, you know, Michael, thank you very much for the conversation. I really appreciate your time.

And she started to get up off her chair, from my recollection. And I said, but Lynn, wait a minute. I really want to try to work with you here. I have another location. 353 State Street. It's in sort of a commercial industrial area. There's a bus route. It's a state road. I can connect you with the building owner and the commercial real estate agent.

I think it would be a perfect location. And that's how it started. I made the connection and the App Foundation arrived in North Haven. Now at that point in time, to give you some rough numbers, we may have had six to eight hundred North Haven residents going into New Haven. And this is what Matt's thinking about also, he'll share with you, I'm sure, when he speaks.

So we had, we had a percentage of our population who had serious problems. They were going to New Haven by having a facility in North Haven, they can stay in North Haven for treatment. And as it turned out that it became more and more of a need and more and more North Haven residents started to use that facility and are using it today.

If we were to sit in the parking lot there, which I have done, we will see all kinds of demographics there. We'll see people in pickup trucks. We'll see people with cars that have dents and it looks like they went through accidents, but we'll also see Mercedes and BMWs. So this is a problem that is not.

Designed or designated to a specific demographic. It's a problem all over in our communities, and I'm very proud of what the App Foundation has done here today in helping service our residents. And even here in my office, I have family members who have substance use disorder problems, have staff who have problems in their own families.

It is something that touches everyone, whether directly or indirectly. And one last point, the App Foundation has helped save lives here. The App Foundation has, in the case of some of my family members, the App Foundation has restored a, an ability for people to live a normal life. And I say it all the time, I've spoken at local colleges, I've spoken at the state level on this.

People with substance use disorder, they are screaming for help. One of my family members actually said to me, Do you think I want to be like this? These are demons that torment me every day. The App Foundation has quelled those demons. It is no different than someone who has juvenile diabetes who needs insulin.

It is no different than someone, God forbid, suffering from cancer who needs chemotherapy or radiation. It's a treatable disease and it's not something that people should look down on other people because they have these problems. I

couldn't say it better myself. It's indiscriminate and I think What you alluded to there though is having treatment facilities and services within local communities.

You know, we stand a better chance. I've got another question for you, if I may, and it may cross over with you, Matt. You know, it's now the app's open access model for substance use treatment, because it should be said this is so much more than a methadone clinic, which is often what it gets, you know, kind of.

Tardaz, if you like, but the wraparound services are absolutely phenomenal, and we're going to touch on them shortly. But what has been your perspective on the reality of bringing the facility to the local area and its residents? Have you got stats to support? the success that you know it's been over the last decade.

So I don't have direct or hard statistics. I have general numbers, but you make a great point though, Claire. And it's something that I didn't talk about that I was leading into, and that is the wraparound services. When we look at people who have these substance use disorder issues and they're treated with the methadone, it doesn't stop there.

There's counselors, there's other wraparound services that can lead people to other areas that can help them Shape their lives even more clearly so they have a sense of purpose and a sense of structure and a sense of well being Sense of confidence. So that was one of the things that attracted me to Abt in the beginning Not only the fact we had a problem here.

Not only the fact that there was a medicinal aspect for treatment But also these wraparound services, psychological issues that people may have. The app really does a great job with that.

In actual fact, I've jumped ahead of myself because that really was kind of question four more than anything else, you know, as being App Foundation President and CEO Lynn Madden has previously suggested that clinics often get painted with a broad brush.

I like that description of it because it really, it is a very broad brush. And that many people have preconceived ideas that all that really happens is that medication is handed out. When it is so, so much more than that. With a host of the wraparound services, in therapy, mental health services, case management.

But the, another thing is the primary healthcare. You know, a lot of these people haven't seen a primary care physician, sometimes for decades. The other thing is the relationship building. That plays such a key part. Do you think that the minds and views of the local community has changed over the years?

You know, I know you've obviously found the alternative location, which was perfect at the time. But do you feel like the community view may have changed?

To a certain extent, but not entirely. And Matt and I have talked about this also. We still have a small percentage of the population that looks down on this facility.

And this is where And Matt and I have talked about this before also, that in this position, in these leadership positions, and for those of you who are listening on the podcast, when you hear the phrase First Selectman, the First Selectman is the mayor of the town. We just call it a little bit differently.

It's the same position. We have to realize that we as leaders, we have an obligation to do the right thing. And if we were to use a banking metaphor, I'm going to just shift the metaphors here. If we have reserves called political capital, they're built up over time with the trust that the community may have with us for the way we oversee and run our respective governments.

But sometimes. The right thing to do is not the popular thing to do, and you have to spend some of that political capital. Yeah. So, I'm in a position here where, you mentioned I run unopposed, uh, Matt has tremendous popularity also, uh, he's a dear friend of mine, we work very closely together, tremendous popularity in Guilford.

Sometimes you have to spend some of that capital. I've been fortunate that I have shifted the mentality to a large extent. But I don't think I'll ever completely change the mentality. And there are some people out there that still look down on

it. Is substance use getting in the way of your ability to partake in activities you once enjoyed, or maintain any aspect of daily life?

Opioid or other substance use disorders can be treated safely and effectively. Reach out to your local treatment network through S A M H S A dot gov slash finetreatment. That's S A M H S A dot gov slash finetreatment to start medicine and begin your recovery. Brought to you by theaptfoundation. org.

Matt, talk to me a little bit about How you came to see this as an important issue for Guildford and I guess your experiences of working with the App Foundation to date. Claire, thank

you for the question. I can really thank my good friend Mike Frieda for the introduction to Lynn and her team. Mike asked if I'd take a meeting with them because they were interested in doing something out here on the shoreline.

And I immediately said yes, for a variety of reasons. Not the least of which is Mike's depiction of the process he went through in North Haven. And when he relayed to me some of the personal nature of his decision, which is his family has been affected by substance abuse disorder and so is mine, Mike and I have an awful lot in common.

We're all ex jocks and stuff, but we have. So much more in common. Both of our families have been impacted by substance abuse. Mine, predominantly, was on the alcohol side. And, in fact, six days a week at the Episcopal Church, which is adjacent to, across the parking lot from Town Hall, there is an AA meeting that starts at 730.

At any one time, 15, 20, 25 years ago, there could have been two or three of my family members or extended family members attending those meetings. So for me, the opportunity to provide a level of service and more importantly, the wraparound services, it's, you know, the methadone is one thing, but it's the wraparound services that most impressed me.

When I heard Lynn make the pitch about coming to Guilford, and Lynn also was kind enough to provide me with some hard data, which I have used in my defense or my rationale for making the decision to support App coming to town. Now, my support is not the final terminate of whether or not the App Foundation comes into town.

But as Mike said, the political capital that we've been able to build over the years because We've exhibited the ability to take leadership positions on things and as Mike said, uh, the, uh, doing the right thing is not always the easy thing to do, but I have, I've been fond of a phrase, doing the right thing isn't the easiest thing, but it's always the right thing to do.

And in this case, the moral imperative is if we can help people out on the shoreline community, we ought to take. Advantage of the opportunity the data that Lynn provided to me is similar to what Mike talked about when you go look at the parking lot There are some 500 clients of app foundation who have zip codes east of new haven So, you know east haven brantford gilford madison Clinton, Westbrook, Old Sandbrook, and even in Zoldyne.

And many of those communities are considered, you know, fortunate, upper middle class, socioeconomic, affluent communities, you're right. And the fact of the matter is, drug and substance abuse does not pick one class or another. It affects us all. And I was extremely impressed by something that Lynn told me.

She says most of the people that are probably coming in from the suburbs are then going to a job. They, they're driving, even though the potential location here in town is also going to be on a bus route. The access to 95, literally less than a quarter of a mile away, will be the, the, the target location for APP.

Would allow for quick, easy on, easy off, so people can get on with the business of living their lives. I also wanted to touch on a point that you and Mike were talking about, and that is community perception. I liken it to the conversations that Mike and I have in our communities around affordable housing.

There's a stigma associated with affordable housing. So many people immediately go to Section 8 housing vouchers, etc. But in communities like Guilford and North Haven, we have people who are struggling to continue to make ends meet. We've started using different language with affordable housing, it's workforce housing, it's middle market housing, it's those kind of things, just to frame it differently in our community.

When we had the first announcement that App was potentially coming into town, newspaper article, et cetera, I got the classic feedback from all over the community. I got positive feedback. I got the not in my backyard pitchforks. We don't want it here. You're going to diminish our property values. Yada, yada, yada.

Again, as Mike said, we have to take some leadership positions and which I doubt property values in the adjacent area, particularly homes. They're not in a high density area where homes are located, but a couple of side streets away, they are in proximity. But I don't necessarily believe that their housing values are going to drop.

This is, you know, there are so many other attributes in Guilford that this is not going to change the look and feel and the desirability of moving

into Guilford. Absolutely. It's a very difficult ship for you to sail and re educate people about what the reality actually is versus what The fears create in their own minds, you know, and it's not an easy path to walk.

But so I commend you both. Interestingly, Matt, I was just thinking like, who are the other stakeholders involved in the opening of this clinic and how are they engaging in the process? So far, how has that been for you?

The app foundation is really at the initial stages. We have a process here when developers come into town, where we meet with the respective land use regulatory bodies, building, uh, health.

Environmental, engineering, and of course, planning and zoning. So, the initial meeting that we had with the Yacht Foundation team, where they presented a preliminary set of plans, was a working session. It was one where we interact with them. How can we best modify or adapt their plan for the property it's in, and the specific zoning requirements, and then our general.

code requirements. So my staff, they probably understood my position on it. Let me say it that way. They did understand my position on this. And I have a phrase that I'm fond of when it comes to the zoning and planning and regulatory agencies is how do we get to yes. So often when you work in a bureaucratic organization I love

that.

I'm going to try that in my next negotiations. How do I get to yes?

So often in a bureaucratic environment, the walls are put up first. It's no, as opposed to what are you trying to do and how can we help you do it. I will tell you also that our public safety organizations are also supportive of it because to no one's surprise, they're on the front lines.

They see it. They're the ones dispensing Narcan, and there are numbers that would surprise people in our community as to the number of overdoses. We've been fortunate there have not been many fatalities. In fact, in the last reporting period, there was only one fatality from an overdose, but that's one too many.

So they understand the value of having these services, so that, quite honestly, They're not being called to somebody's house or find somebody slumped over a car in a parking lot or, you know, underneath the highway underpass or somewhere where they've overdosed on street drugs as opposed to medication.

Which is what they're going to be receiving at, uh, the App Foundation.

Do you know, that leads me on beautifully to my last question for you guys, you know. The top line is that there are over 1, 400 overdoses in Connecticut every year. Over 1, 400, which blows my mind every time I read it. And the stats show that if people are actively engaged with treatment, they are considerably less likely to die.

In fact, considerably less likely to die. There's a lot at stake and the open access model on a local level seems to be, to make access easier for local people to access local services, seems to be the way to go. I mean it makes absolute sense to this layman sat here. So a question for the both of you. If a new clinic was to be proposed in another town, what suggestions or advice would you give to the administration or the residents in that said town?

Do you want to start first Matt and then I'll pass back to Michael to finish up. I

think the first advice that I'd give to any other elected official is don't have any preconceived notions. Have an open mind and listen to your community. You're going to find more people will support this. Then don't support it because like Mike and myself, substance abuse has touched almost every family in this country in some form or fashion.

So, and I would say, be comfortable in your willingness to take not a risk, but to take the right stance and to do something in the business, wherein issues flare up and they die out. When I first took office here, there was, uh, there was a dog that was, had been sentenced to be euthanized because of this, this significant attack that it had committed.

It consumed the first four or five months of my, uh, administration. Now, when I say, anybody remains reminded of the Save Simon incident, people go, oh yeah. What happened to that? People's memories, you know, are funny, and these issues tend to pale over time. So, don't get caught up in the immediate outrage by a small portion of the community.

Matt, you're leaving me hanging. What happened to Simon?

We worked out a deal with the family and the attorney. Simon went to a rescue rehab facility in Michigan.

Fabulous! I'm glad to hear a happy end to that story. It was

a good ending, and well, anecdotally, too, there was a Very organized group trying to save him.

They even put, they even put up billboards on 95 coming into Guilford that said, save Simon.

I love those people and I love the fact that it all ended well for him. Michael, we're going to finish with yourself. What advice, suggestions would you give to the next administration that tries to tackle substance abuse and substance use disorders in their local communities?

I'd also focus on some of the things that Matt said, and I'd also describe the following. I would say to the chief elected official or the administration, Do you like having health care services in your town? I would point to the fact that in North Haven, when I took office, I was focused in on having built a medical epicenter to include the Winchester Lung and Disease Treatment Center, a Smilos Center through Yale Health Care, an urgent care center, a group of cardiologists.

A group of pulmonary experts work with Hartford Hospital to bring in, uh, spine experts, orthopedic, uh, healthcare services. And I would tie in the fact that the App Foundation is another healthcare center. It offers treatment that maybe some of the other hospitals are not specializing in. It offers treatment to get people back on track with their lives, to lead a normal life.

It offers the wraparound services that are critically important. And I would say that you'd have to Consider it to be another health care center to help a segment of the population that has become disenfranchised now through the years.

For sure. Absolutely. Gentlemen, I don't think we can top any of that.

I think that's a beautiful way to end this particular podcast. I can only thank you for your time and being a part of Open Access Open Mic on behalf of the App Foundation. Gentlemen, thank you so much for your time today. Thank you for

this conversation.

It was a great conversation. My pleasure to be with you, Claire.

And also, it's always a pleasure to be with my dear friend, Matt Hoyt. You know, Mike. Okay.

The Abt Foundation values their help in serving our New Haven area clients. Their Long Wharf location provides medications for treatment of substance use disorders by prescription from our primary care doctors who are also trained in addiction medicine. Visit HancockLongWharf. com