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From YouTube: Youth Substance Use Strategic Plan Release
Description
Mayor Walsh and Recovery Services Director Jennifer Tracey unveil the Substance Use Prevention Strategic Plan at Boston City Hall. Developed in collaboration with the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation, the first-ever citywide strategy for substance use prevention assesses existing youth-focused initiatives and looks for ways to fill gaps in services.
A
Good
morning
my
name
is
Marty
Martinez
and
I
am
the
chief
of
Health
and
Human
Services
for
the
city
and
on
behalf
of
Mayor
Walsh
tower
administration.
Thank
you
all
for
being
here
with
us
this
morning.
I'm
excited
to
be
here
to
bring
forward
the
next
step
in
some
of
the
work
that
we've
done
with
the
release
of
our
prevention
report
and
strategic
plan.
A
I
cannot
start
without
thanking
Mary
Walsh,
who
you'll
hear
from
for
making
this
work
a
priority
for
all
of
us
in
the
city
and
ensuring
that
we
have
the
resources
we
need
to
move
this
work
forward.
His
leadership
and
that
of
the
mayor's
officer,
recovery
services
and
director
Jen
Tracy,
who
you
also
hear
from,
has
made
today
a
reality
and
Health
and
Human
Services,
and
the
work
that
we're
doing
across
the
Health
Commission
as
well,
is
prioritizing
these
efforts,
and
so
we're
excited
to
be
here
with
you.
A
We
also
want
to
thank
Blue
Cross
Blue
Shield's
in
Massachusetts
Foundation
and
Mass
General
Hospital
for
partnering
with
the
city
who
you'll
hear
from
for
supporting
this
important
work.
The
report
marks
an
commitment
from
the
community
to
understand
the
drivers
of
youth
substance.
Use
disorders,
as
the
mayor
said
in
the
past,
of
the
youth
in
Boston
are
not
only
our
future
but
they're
they're.
A
This
plan
should
I
say,
is
going
to
create
a
strategic
roadmap
for
us
to
accomplish
many
of
these
things
and
to
ensure
that
we're
thinking
about
equity
and
equality,
with
respect
to
all
the
challenges
that
young
people
face
in
our
community,
with
the
support
of
Blue,
Cross,
Blue
Shield
of
Massachusetts
foundation
and
MGH,
the
city
with
all
of
you
as
partners,
have
worked
hard
to
create
this
localized
study
that
looks
at
these
issues
in
the
community.
So
many
of
you
here
have
been
part
of
this
study
and
part
of
this
process.
A
Raise
your
hand,
have
you
been
part
of
this
working
to
do
the
advisory
committee
or
focus
groups?
This
tells
us
a
lot
about
the
community
and
who's
here
today.
It
tells
us
a
lot
about
the
needs
that
we're
trying
to
address
and
the
role
that
CBO's
and
community
organizations
are
working
towards
the
city's
gone
great
lengths
to
make
sure
that
we
can
tackle
the
opioid
epidemic,
tackle
substance,
use
disorders
and
the
issues
that
are
impacting
our
community.
But
part
of
that
is
also
understanding
that
prevention
is
part
of
the
equation,
lots
of
times.
A
We
think
about
recovery.
We
think
about
treatment
all
vitally
important
things,
but
we
forget
that
the
path
starts
with
prevention
and
we
forget
the
resources
that
are
there
not
intentionally,
but
because
we
get
focused
on
the
other
pieces,
and
so
this
is
part
of
that
effort
to
ensure
that
we're
thinking
and
prioritizing
prevention
and
that
we're
working
to
ensure
that
we
put
those
pieces
in
place
that'll
help
us
get
to
where
we
need
to
go.
A
This
plan
has
created
a
sort
of
a
set
of
recommendations
which
I'll
hear
more
about
that
categorize
us
and
things
that
are
around
city-owned
things:
that
city
the
city
will
take
ownership
up
and
move
City
lead,
which
means
we'll
provide
support
and
connect
and
and
create
pathways
for,
and
then
city
catalyze,
which
means
help
sometimes
means
get
out
of
the
way.
But
it
really
means
how
do
we
work
together?
This
plan
is
gonna,
help
us
sort
of
do
that
in
create
recommendations,
but,
most
importantly,
it's
gonna
make
sure
that
we
prioritize
this
work.
B
B
That's
so
important
I
want
to
thank
the
providers,
thought
I'd,
see
father
Joe,
White,
Thank,
You,
father
Joe,
for
he's
a
spiritual
leader
in
the
city
of
Boston
and
some
somebody
who
who
was
picked
by
the
Cardinal
to
to
lead
the
effort
of
recovery
in
the
in
the
in
the
outside
of
Boston
John
McGeehan
from
the
Gabon
foundation,
and
so
many
other
Kate
Walsh,
and
so
many
other
folks.
Here,
I
shouldn't
have
done
that
cuz
I'm
gettin
F,
to
introduce
everyone
now
just
about
everyone
in
here
this
room.
Thank
you.
We're
talking.
B
I
was
thinking
over
the
last
couple
of
weeks,
we're
talking
about
when
I
was
a
kid
growing
up.
Some
of
us
in
this
room,
kids
growing
up.
There
was
a
big
prevention
war
on
drugs,
and
the
model
was
just
say
no,
and
what
that
what
that
slogan
did
was
lock
a
lot
of
people
up.
There
was
really
no
full
understanding
of
addiction,
particularly
when
it
came
to
young
people.
There
was
no
understanding
of
why
young
people
picked
up,
and
in
the
very
beginning,
a
lot
of
it
was
thought
that
people
thought
it
was
peer
pressure.
B
They
didn't
think
it
was
anything
other
than
that
the
results
were
not
fewer
people
using
drugs,
but
communities
targeted
and
not
feeling
supported,
and
that
was
the
result
of
that
effort
and
not
to
be
critical
of
the
past.
But
that's
what
people
thought
the
conversation
around
opioids
has
been
much
better.
B
Most
people
accept
it
as
a
disease
and
the
treatment
and
in
need
of
treatment,
something
that
is
really
important
for
the
young
people
in
this
room
that
here
today,
you
already
know
this,
but
let
your
friends
know
this
is
a
disease,
and
this
disease
could
be
in
any
one
of
us.
But
in
some
ways
we've
changed
this
disease
and
it's
color-coded.
Opioids
are
not
only
a
white
problem.
They're,
a
black
problem,
they're
a
let's,
see
no
problem,
they're
an
Asian
problem.
B
B
We
have
to
be
intentional
about
about
about
equity
and
whereas
we
have
to
make
sure
that
we
continue
to
look
and
wear
that,
but
where
the
symptoms
are
where
our
resource
is
going,
how
do
we
truly
address
the
issue
of
substance
disorder?
This
plan
takes
us
in
a
whole
new
direction.
It
looks
at
the
reality
of
young
people's
lives
and
the
reality
of
most
of
the
youth.
We
serve
our
youth
of
color.
It
looks
at
specific
challenges
and
traumas
that
young
people
face
what
substance
abuse.
B
They
are
taking,
what
substance
they're,
taking
what's
working
to
help
them,
and
what
can
we
do
better?
My
hope
is
that
it's
a
historical
turning
point
I'm
hoping
that
30
years
from
now
somebody's
not
standing
at
this
podium
and
saying
that
what
they
did
in
2018
was
nice,
but
it
wasn't
enough
I
think,
there's
a
real
opportunity.
The
way
that
this
this
report
has
been
put
together,
really
a
taxes
issue
I
worked
over
the
last
few
years,
has
had
a
national
impact
by
creating
the
for
office
of
first
office
of
recovery
services.
B
We
have
mayor's
all
across
America
talking
about
what's
happening
in
Boston
and
how,
to
date,
deal
with
this
issue,
creating
a
recovery
service
toolkit
for
other
cities,
and
this
plan
is
a
model
and
generate
so
you
can
talk
about
the
amount
of
people
and
mayor's
both
here
at
the
conference
in
Boston,
but
over
the
last
couple
years
of
people
saying
we
want
that
toolkit
to
see
what
we
can
do
in
our
cities.
We
have
worked
to
approach
recovery
in
its
full
context,
with
housing,
education,
job
training.
B
We
are
putting
prevention
in
full
context
of
neighborhoods
and
race
and
poverty
and
trauma,
and
the
only
way
to
have
a
long
term
impact.
It
can
teach
us
a
lot
about
the
overall
well-being
of
opportunities,
not
community,
so
we
need
to
continue
to
be
creative
and
continue
to
think
outside
the
box
and
continue
to
work
collectively
together
to
battle
this
issue.
B
They've
been
our
partner
since
the
very
beginning,
I
want
to
thank
the
Oversight
Committee
and
the
Youth
Advisory
Board
for
your
time
and
commitment,
because
you
are
making
a
difference
and
you
will
make
a
difference
and
I
want
to
thank
you
for
sitting
for
countless
numbers
of
hours
and
talking
about
the
conversation
about
where
we
are
today.
I
want
to
thank
Mass
General
for
helping
make
this
vision
a
reality,
they're
doing
incredible
work
and
he's
sponsoring
in
Charlestown
and
now
they're
doing
it.
Citywide
and
they're
out
there
and
I
see
the
VN
out
there.
B
The
crowd
fan
out
there.
All
over
the
city
of
Boston
I
want
to
thank
them
for
their
commitment.
We
need
more
partners
like
Blue,
Cross,
Blue,
Shield
and
Mass
General
Hospital.
This
is
just
the
beginning,
and
we
have
a
lot
of
work
to
do
and
I
know
that
the
people
in
this
room
as
I
look
around
those
older
faces,
I've
seen
for
a
while
I
used
to
see
you
at
the
Statehouse,
walk
in
the
halls
and
in
working
those
areas
for
for
more
money
and
more
treatment
and
looking
for
a
plan.
B
The
younger
face
in
this
room.
I
want
to
thank
you
for
being
here
today,
because
this
is
not
the
beginning
of
the
fight
for
you.
But
this
is
something
that
we'll
be
working
on
for
a
long
time
and
we
need
your
commitment.
We
need
to
stay
here
and
stay
connected
and
continue
to
push
us
and
continue
to
push
all
of
us
forward.
So
we
have
a
better
better
services.
Now
I
have
the
great
honor
of
introducing
a
graduate
of
us.
B
The
guy
recovered
high
school
she's
from
Georgia,
still
like
I
am
she's
in
recovery
like
I,
am
I
should
say
I'm
in
a
car,
be
like
she
is
I'm
from
Dutch
she's
like
she
was,
and
probably
the
most
important
expert
speaking
here
today,
Canella
Gresham,
who
I
just
met
a
few
minutes
ago,
and
what
struck
me-
and
we
only
talked
literally
for
about
a
minute
and
a
half
in
the
other
room.
What
struck
me
when
I
saw
her
it
was
her
face.
Her
face
is
full
of
confidence.
C
Thank
you
for
the
introduction.
I
appreciate
it,
so
my
name
is
Cannella
I'm
24
years
old,
I
graduated
from
Austin
guy
I'm
gonna.
Give
you
just
a
quick
summary
of
kind
of
why
I'm
up
here
and
why
I
feel
like
this
is
perfect.
For
me,
I
started
smoking
weed
when
I
was
probably
about
14
and
today,
which
is
crazy.
That's
a
little
old
I
thought
that
was
really
young.
Looking
back,
but
now
it's
kind
of
like
the
norm,
so
I
started
smoking
weed
and
that
was
it.
I
was
a
very
good
student.
C
I
was
on
a
roll
all
the
time.
I
had
a
very
bright
future
ahead
of
me.
I
played
sports
I.
Did
everything
right,
I
got
to
middle
school.
High
school
and
I
plummeted.
I
want
straight
down.
It
was
every
day
all
day.
That's
all
I
did
my
motivation
went
down,
I
was
irritable,
I
was
a
completely
different
person
and
everyone
could
like
see
it,
except
for
me.
So
I
went
through
all
of
that.
C
I
smoked
a
lot
of
weed
and
for
me
looking
back
now,
because
I'm
a
little
older
I
can
kind
of
look
back
and
look
into
things
a
little
more
and
analyze
it
and
smoking
weed
was
very
bad
and
it
started
everything
off.
But
what
it
really
did
was
introduced
me
to
people
that
did
more
things
and
before
I
had
met
those
people,
I
had
always
said.
I
will
never
do
anything
else.
That's
crazy!
Crack,
cocaine,
--then
I'm,
not
doing
anything.
C
I
hang
out
with
these
people
and
that's
exactly
what
I,
what
I'm
doing
I
had
a
good
life
at
home.
My
mom
cared
about
me:
I
had
a
good
sister,
everything
was
good,
except
for
me.
I
was
for
some
reason.
I
just
had
this
weird
void
in
me
that
I
just
felt
that
smoking
weed
and
doing
drugs
just
and
hang
out
with
friends
too
I
was
in
high
school
and
I.
C
Had
this
tunnel
vision
of
like
everything
that
I
do
in
high
school
is
gonna,
follow
me
forever
and
if
I
don't
go
to
this
party,
if
I
don't
hang
out
with
this
person
whatwhat's
after
this
I
mean
I'm,
not
gonna,
have
any
friends
it's
crazy,
because
I
mean
we
can
all
relate
to
this
when
you're
in
high
school.
It
is
this.
Is
it
you're
locked
in
this
building,
not
locked
but
you're
you're
in
this
building,
and
you
kind
of
just
there's
nothing
else
afterwards
and
I
never
thought
about
it
too.
C
C
Now
that
I
look
back
and
so
I
went
to
Austin
I,
because
things
got
way
out
of
hand,
and
today
I
am
more
than
thankful,
because
Austin
I
kind
of
just
railed
me
in
they
railed
me
in
they
gave
me
the
drug
test,
and
you
know
I
had
my
little
mishaps
and
stuff,
but
it
was
all
a
part
of
the
process
and
now
I'm
better
than
ever.
Like
you
know
what
I
mean
like
I,
look
back
and
I'm
like
I
will.
C
Never
you
know
the
the
end
for
me
was
kind
of
living
out
on
the
street.
Why
I'm,
17
and
I'm
living
out
on
the
street
I
dropped
out
of
school?
Why?
Because
I
just
didn't
want
to
go
anymore
like
it
was
crazy.
There
was
nothing
else,
I
didn't
know
what
I
was
gonna
do
in
the
future.
I
didn't
really
care.
This
was
it.
This
is
all
I'm,
gonna
do
and
I'm
happy
here
was
I
really
happy.
No,
but
I
was
content
in
that
moment,
because
I
didn't
want
my
mom
to
tell
me
what
to
do.
C
It
was
a
little
difficult
for
me
to
open
up
fully
and
wholeheartedly
to
somebody
that
was
law.
Older
I
just
felt
like
they
might
not
have
gotten
at
a
hundred
percent
and
I
feel
like
it
would
have
been
a
little
better
kind
of
like
a
Big
Brother
Big
Sister
type
thing
to
have
had
somebody
there
that
I
trust
that
isn't
gonna
just
run
and
tell
on
tell
on
me-
and
you
know,
do
all
this
crazy
stuff.
C
So
that's
number
two
and
number
three,
which
is
kind
of
far-fetched,
but
I
look
back
now
and
I'm
like
I
wish
that
I
had
these
resources
in
school
things
like
dealing
with
my
taxes,
looking
into
things
about
like
benefits
for
a
job.
What
should
I
be
doing?
What
should
I
be
looking
for,
like
I,
think
things
that
would
have
helped
me
in
the
future,
because
when
you
get
out
of
school,
it
kind
of
just
smacks
you
and
it's
like
I
have
bills.
I
have
all
this
stuff
and
you're
like
I.
C
Don't
even
know
what
to
do.
You
want
me
to
fill
out
a
w-2.
What
do
I
do
with
it?
I
don't
know
so.
I
just
think
like
little,
it's
little
things
and
I
feel
like
that
might
have
gotten
got
me.
A
little
bit
more
excited
because
today,
especially
I'm,
sorry
if
I'm,
rambling,
I'm
real
sorry
today,
especially
I
work
with
a
lot
of
not
kids
but
they're
young
adults
that
are
graduating
from
high
from
the
high
school
and
they're
going
into
their
senior
year
and
we're
not
when
I
work
with
them.
C
I
tell
them
about
like
listen.
You
got
to
get
your
credit
score
of
like
you
got
to
apply
for
these
credit
cards
like
what
are
you
thinking
of?
Oh,
you
know,
you're
gonna
go
to
school,
you
know
you're
gonna.
You
want
a
house
great
how
you
gonna
get
the
house.
You
know,
there's
all
these
things
that
and
they
get
excited
about
it
and
I'm.
Like
you
know,
it's
just
little
things.
So
those
three
things
I
wanted
to
leave
you
guys
with
and
I
appreciate
your
time.
That
is
all.
D
D
So
I
have
a
lot
of
thank
yous
to
do
too
so
I'm
gonna
save
those
to
the
end.
I
don't
want
to
get
down
the
same
rabbit
hole
on
the
thing
here
started
to
get
down
because
really
every
each
and
every
person
here
needs
to
be
thanked,
but
we
couldn't
have
done
this
whole
process
without
the
oversight
committee
and
the
planning
team
and
our
partners
at
DMA
health
strategies
and
and
others
so
I
will
try
to
thank
everyone.
At
the
end.
The
the
report
touched
on
really
we're
gonna
walk
through
what
was
our
approach?
D
What
were
our
goals?
What
were
some
of
the
activities
that
we
did
to
get
the
information,
we're
gonna
focus
on
some
youth
and
stake
feedback,
because
we
think
that
some
of
the
new
and
different
stuff,
but
there's
a
lot
of
other
research
and
feedback
in
the
report
that
we
won't
talk
about
today
and
then
just
touch
on
some
of
the
strategic
recommendations.
D
Shifting
the
approach
in
the
past
substance
use
prevention
has
often
been
fear-based.
As
the
mayor
said,
we
want
to
meet
young
people
where
they're
at
a
social
determinants
approach
points
us
towards
the
factors
that
motivate
substance,
use
and
other
risky
behaviors
and
emphasize
as
a
holistic
solution
to
reducing
risk
factors
and
strengthening
protective
factors.
I
have
to
say
that
and
read
that,
because
that
really
is
I
think
new
and
different
as
we
move
forward
with
all
of
the
partners
here
today.
D
We
knew
that
in
Boston
we
wanted
our
guiding
principles
to
be
increasing
coordination
between
city
departments
and
youth,
serving
stakeholders
moving
away
from
silos
and
often
time,
funding
from
federal
or
state
partners
comes
down
to
us.
Very
specifically,
it
comes
down
to
us
in
the
violence
world
and
in
the
treatment
world
and
in
the
prevention
world
very
specific,
and
so
we
wanted
to
sort
of
step
back
and
move
away
from
those
silos
develop
strategies
in
all
neighborhoods
work
with
communities
to
understand
the
connection
between
substance
use,
trauma
and
violence.
D
Our
goals
were
simple:
assess
the
capacity
of
our
existing
system,
identify
gaps
and
best
practices
and
develop
actionable
recommendations
to
move
forward.
We
focused
on
middle
and
high
school-aged
youth,
with
specific
consideration
to
youth
that
have
been
left
out
of
the
conversation
when
the
mayor's
office
of
recovery
service
launched
three
years
ago.
The
plan
was
really
focused
on
accessing
care,
increasing
access
to
care
and
developing
strategies
across
the
city
to
tackle
some
of
the
most
acute
issues
that
we
were
facing
in
our
city,
certainly
with
the
opioid
epidemic.
D
But
we
pivot
a
little
bit
today
and
we
do
so
with
the
advocacy
of
our
partners
of
our
prevention
partners
that
are
here
today
sitting
right
in
front
of
me
who,
from
the
minute
we
opened
the
office
we're
knocking
out
our
doors
along
with
parents
and
families
telling
us
at
the
city
of
Boston
that
we
needed
to
do
more
for
youth.
Around
substance
use
some
of
the
activities
that
the
project
team
led
were
the
following.
D
It
was
very
important
for
us
to
hear
from
young
people,
so
youth
and
parent
feedback
through
focus
groups
and
parent
surveys
was
very
important.
Key,
informant
interviews,
stakeholder
focus
groups.
We
did
over
21
key
informant
interviews
and
focus
groups
with
specific
sectors
of
the
community
and
youth,
serving
providers,
high-risk,
coalition's
and
other
youth
organizations.
D
We
did
quantitative
data
review
using
the
data
that
we
have
available
to
us,
which
is
the
youth
risk.
Behavior
survey
data,
which
is
a
sample
size
across
Boston,
Public
Schools,
and
we
use
some
Hospital
data
supported
by
the
Boston
Public
Health,
Commission,
review
of
evidence-based
and
promising
practices
across
nationally
across
the
city
and
the
state,
and
did
a
lot
of
work
with
researchers
and
prevention
experts,
many
of
whom
are
here
today,
so
to
focus
a
little
bit
on
youth
and
stakeholder
feedback
that
received.
D
We
received
from
this
report
again,
there's
many
other
findings,
but
we're
just
going
to
touch
on
this
particular
stuff
in
the
essence
of
time,
so
perspectives
from
Boston
youth.
These
are
young
people
that
were
surveyed
either
in
person
through
focus
groups,
we
did
focus
groups
with
our
city
partners
at
the
Health
Commission
through
their
peer
leadership
programs
through
Boston
Center
for
youth
and
families
was
hosted.
Many
focus
groups
as
well.
D
D
Youth
youth
voice
was
important
and
themes
included.
Many
reasons
that
youth
use
substances,
some
of
which
Canela
are
just
referenced
in
her
speaking,
a
big
one,
was
thinking
their
peers
used
to
max,
feel
good
and
have
fun.
It
doesn't
sound
earth-shattering,
but
it's
important
for
us
to
focus
on
what
young
people
are
saying
and
it
give
people
the
information
to
tackle,
to
tackle
that
where
they're
at
a
high
percentage
of
youth
also
perceive
that
other
youth
may
use
or
are
under
the
influence
at
school.
D
So
there
was
a
lot
of
concern
from
young
people
about
what
their
peers
were,
we're
doing
and
and
what
they
were
seeing
in
their
communities
and
in
their
schools.
We
also
asked
young
people
where
they
get
and
want
to
receive
information
about
drugs
and
alcohol
overwhelmingly.
Their
response
was
that
they
do
receive
or
they
want
to
receive
or
think
it's
a
good
place
to
receive
that
information
at
school
and
also
with
their
friends
and
family.
D
We
have
many
young
people
in
Boston
that
do
not
use
substances,
of
course,
and
for
the,
but
for
those
that
do
or
no
peers
that
do
they
report
using
a
range
of
substances,
marijuana,
alcohol,
over-the-counter
codeine
or
lean
and
more
than
they
use
prescription
opioids.
And
we
make
that
statement
here
today,
just
not
to
diminish
the
climate
today
around
opioids,
but
to
say
it
out
loud,
particularly
for
communities
of
colors
who
in
many
cases,
have
been
struggling
with
heroin
for
over
25
years.
D
I
have
a
report
actually
from
Rita
Nieves
when
she
was
the
director
at
the
Health
Commission
and
I
worked
at
the
state
2000
for
Boston's
heroin
problem
requesting
help
from
the
state
at
that
time.
So
we've
been
struggling
for
a
long
time
and
many
communities
are
feeling
left
out
of
this
current
conversation
and
wondering
where
we've
been
all
these
years.
D
So
we,
you
know,
scan
the
city
looking
at
existing
prevention
capacity
and
looked
at
key
city
departments
and
key
community
partners.
I'm,
you
see
them
here.
Good
work
is
happening
in
pockets.
We
need
coordination
among
these
agencies.
We
need
identified
leader
or
point
agency
to
guide
everyone's
efforts
and
we
need
to
expand
to
include
the
entire
city.
Some
neighborhoods
have
historically
not
been
involved
in
these
conversations
around
substance
use
in
the
past,
so
the
stakeholders,
many
of
you,
are
here
guided
much
of
the
recommendations.
D
I'm
gonna
sip
through
those.
So
this
feedback
plus
extensive
research,
brings
us
to
strategic
recommendations.
Again,
there's
quite
lengthy
recommendations
in
the
report
that
we
hope
to
that
will
serve
as
a
roadmap
for
community
organizations.
Community
coalition's
and
us,
together
with
all
of
you
but
I'm,
just
going
to
save
five
buckets
of
the
recommendations,
expand
leadership
and
coordination,
increase
prevention,
work
in
all
city
agencies,
use
consistent
messaging,
improve
pathways
to
care
and
engage
with
academic
and
other
philanthropic
organizations.
D
D
D
The
mayor
has
invested
in
the
effort
in
the
this
year's
budget
that
just
got
passed
clearly
shows
his
commitment
for
us
moving
forward
with
this
goal
to
expand
leadership
and
coordination,
and
we
thank
him
for
that.
Dr.
Slavin
will
also
speak
to
how
we
can't
do
it
alone
and
the
important
roles
that
our
partners
can
play
and
we
need
them
to
play,
and
we
thank
Mass
General
for
being
here,
and
we
call
other
others
to
the
table
to
join
us
goal.
D
Two
is
increased
prevention,
work
in
all
city
agencies,
really
how
to
talk
talk
with
youth
and
their
caregivers
about
substance,
use
to
equip
our
city
agency
partners
like
our
Boston
Center
for
youth
and
families,
our
Boston
Public,
Schools
and
other
divisions
within
our
health
Commission,
with
the
tools
to
do
that
use
consistent
messaging,
the
concept
is
simple:
give
people
the
tools
to
talk
about
substance,
use
and
educate
the
public
and
well
for
the
earlier.
We
intervene.
D
The
better
chance
a
person
has
for
success
so
improve
all
pathways
to
care
and
make
people
make
sure
people
have
that
information
and
goal.
Five,
as
I
said,
really
ask
partners
to
come
to
the
table
with
us
to
do
research
in
areas
around
equity.
That
hasn't
been
done
before,
with
young
people
and
substance
use,
and,
and
just
reiterate
that
we
cannot
do
this
alone.
We
need
good,
reliable
data,
public
and
private
partners
to
reach
the
next
level
in
the
City
of
Boston.
So
thank
you.
That
is
the
50-plus
odd
report.
D
I
have
the
pleasure
of
introducing
someone
next
I
if
the
I
think
if
we
could
just
have
a
if
you'll
bear
with
me
the
show
of
hands
of
the
Oversight
Committee
David
and
you
know
dick
and
when
Leslie
and
others
that
worked
hours
and
hours
and
hours
and
hours
on
this
I
want
to
thank
them
for
that.
My
staff
Brendon
little,
who
I
can't
do
anything
without
his
guidance
and
vision.
D
Certainly
our
partners
of
the
the
other
city
agencies,
the
Center
for
youth
and
families
for
hosting
and
guiding
us
and
Monica
Valdes
Lupi
at
the
Public
Health
Commission
and
her
team
and
Boston
Public
Schools,
who
is
here.
We
have
Pat
and
Jill
I.
Think
it's
here
too.
Thank
you
and
Amalia
Nieves
state
partners,
Jose
Morales,
the
director
of
prevention
at
the
state
level,
is
here
and
I.
Thank
you
for
that
and
many
others.
So
I
started
by
saying
three
years
ago.
D
Today,
almost
to
the
date
we
were
at
the
Dimmick
Center,
announcing
the
mayor's
office
of
recovery
services
and
the
first
strategic
plan
for
the
city
of
Boston,
around
addiction
in
recovery
and
with
us
there
and
every
step
of
the
way
has
been
Audrey
she'll
toe
from
Blue
Cross
Blue
Shield
of
Massachusetts
Foundation.
She
was
there,
then
supporting
the
work
that
the
mayor
did
through
his
vision
for
the
year
leading
up
to
it
and
she's
here
now
and
his
support
of
us
and
this
work.
So
it's
my
pleasure
to
introduce
Audrey.
E
Thank
You
Jen
good
afternoon,
everyone
and
thank
you,
mayor,
Walsh
and
chief
Martinez
for
inviting
me
to
be
part
of
this
event.
Many
of
you
know
probably
that
the
mission
of
the
BlueCross
BlueShield
foundation
is
expanding
access
to
health
care
for
low-income
and
vulnerable
populations,
and
five
years
ago
we
decided
to
really
focus
on
the
area
of
behavioral
health,
mental
health
and
substance
use
disorder,
services
and
the
access
to
those.
E
So
our
focus
has
been
very,
very
much
aligned
with
that
of
the
mayor
and
when
he
came
into
office
and
that's
what
prompted
us
in
2014
to
partner
with
the
city
to
help
them
really
assess
the
treatment
world,
identify
gaps
and
and
do
the
road
map
and
establish
the
first
in
the
country
office
of
recovery
services.
So
we
were
really
excited
to
be
part
of
that
and
then
more
recently
tremendously
thrilled
to
be
able
to
participate
in
this
effort
to
focus
on
prevention.
E
We
are.
We
were
honored
to
be
part
of
this
coalition
of
stakeholders
that
have
worked
on
this
collaboration
and
knowledge
sharing
sort
of
convening
like
that
is
a
lot
of
the
way
that
we
do
our
work
at
the
foundation.
So
this
was
such
a
great
great
partnership
to
be
involved
in
the
results
of
the
report
that
Jen
just
went
over
our
really
data-driven
and
that's
one
of
the
things
that's
really
exciting.
These
are
this
report
is
grounded
in
facts.
There
is
nothing
fake
in
here.
It's
health
care
utilization
data.
E
It's
compelling
Public
Health
Survey
data,
which
reflects
the
voice
of
kids
parents
in
the
community
and
I
think
it's
really
important
that
the
recommendations
are
grounded
in
that
really
those
important
facts
but
I
think
also
the
data.
When
you
read
the
report,
if
you
haven't
already
paints
a
much
more
nuanced
picture
of
youth
substance,
use
which
is
kind
of
hard
to
say
you
with
substance
use,
then
what
we
often
see
portrayed
in
the
headlines.
You
know
it
really
is.
E
As
Jen
was
talking
about-
and
the
mayor
was
talking
about,
it
really
isn't
an
isolated
issue,
it's
so
much
intertwined
with
all
the
other
issues
that
we
now
call
social
determinants
of
health.
You
know
so
many
of
the
other
issues
that
are
related
to
poverty.
So
it's
really
important
and
I'm
really
excited
to
see
in
this
report
that
the
approach
is
really
cross
sector.
You
know
collaborative
really
bringing
a
lot
of
organizations
together
in
sectors
together
to
try
to
address
this
issue
and
I
love.
The
fact
that
the
report
is
kalila.
E
You
were
even
referencing
this
the
importance
of
messaging
and
communication,
and
you
know
how
do
we
talk
with
each
other,
whether
it's
parents
and
kids
or
organizations
in
the
city
or
whatever?
But
how
do
we
talk
about
this
in
a
in
a
more
you
know,
constructive
way,
so
we're
really
at
the
foundation.
We've
really
applauded
the
city
for
continuing
and
putting
together
a
strategy
that
encourages
providers
to
collaborate
with
each
other
that
encourages
new
entrants
to
this
field.
E
New
providers
coming
in
to
focus
on
the
areas
the
parts
of
the
city
are
the
populations
that
maybe
haven't
been
getting
attention
in
the
past,
or
really
excited
about
that.
I
would
just
add
that
as
a
person,
who's
worked
on
health
care
and
Human
Services
in
the
city
for
over
30
years
and
I
have
to
admit
also
and
honestly
as
a
mother
and
as
a
grandmother
I
know.
These
issues
are
really
hard
to
address.
As
this
report
Sowell
describes,
substance
use
is
related
to
so
many
other
issues
that
kids
are.
E
You
know
challenged
by
and,
and
it's
I
think
the
chief
referenced
early
and
the
mayor
referenced.
When
you
have
limited
resources,
it's
really
hard
to
put
them
in
prevention
when
there's
so
many
treatment
needs,
but
we
as
adults
really
owe
it
to
the
kids
of
our
city.
We
can
help
them
have
a
better
life
and
we
can
help
them
have
a
better
future.
So
again,
I
really
applaud
the
mayor
and
his
team
for
their
continued
focus
on
these
issues.
E
The
Foundation's
honored
to
have
helped
this
important
initiative
ice
as
I
said,
and
to
be
here
from
with
those
who
will
move
it
forward.
So
it's
now
my
pleasure
to
introduce
dr.
Peter
Slavin
president
and
CEO
of
Mass
General
Hospital
who's
been
a
leader.
I
can
tell
you
personally
from
work
I've
done
over
the
years
and
from
many
of
my
colleagues
in
the
room,
a
leader
in
substance,
use
disorder,
prevention
and
treatment,
and
it's
led
so
many
community-based
initiatives
throughout
the
city.
So
I'm
really
honored
to
introduce
dr.
Peter,
Slavin.
F
F
And
I
think
your
story
just
inspires
all
of
us
to
work
even
that
much
harder
to
prevent
youth
from
heading
down
the
road
that
you
initially
traveled
and
but
it's
great
to
see
you
in
recovery
and
doing
doing
so
well.
I
want
to
thank
the
mayor
and
his
his
team
for
putting
so
much
focus
on
this
important
issue
from
the
the
instant
that
he
was
inaugurated
into
this
position
here
in
the
city
we
have.
F
This
is
the
biggest
public
health
epidemic
facing
the
people
of
this
region,
and
it's
wonderful
to
see
our
city
government
so
focused
and
committed
to
trying
to
stem
the
tide
of
of
addiction
and
and
make
make
progress
against.
It.
I
want
to
thank
my
colleagues
at
Joan,
Quinlan,
Leslie,
Aldrich
and
Matt
Fishman,
who
have
worked
so
hard
to
to
advance
our
efforts
across
partners,
health
care
and
at
Mass
General
to
to
contribute
to
the
efforts
in
this.
F
F
Taking
that
plan
and
putting
it
into
to
action,
and-
and
that's
where
we're
committed
to
after
working
with
you
and
and
making
a
difference
for
the
last
several
years,
we
at
Mass
General,
as
the
largest
hospital
in
this
region,
have
been
focused
on
trying
to
make
a
difference
in
the
live
suffering
from
this
addiction.
We
see
far
too
many
people
in
our
emergency
room
with
overdoses.
F
We
now
not
only
help
them
recover
from
their
acute
overdose,
but
are
working
really
hard
to
get
them
into
recovery,
get
them
the
medical
treatment
they
need
and
follow
them
longitudinally
with
a
consult
service,
a
bridge
clinic
and
a
number
of
recovery
coaches.
But
the
best
way
to
treat
addiction
is
to
prevent
it
first.
First
of
all
and
and
and
that's
what
we
would
like
to
to
see
and
so
so
I'm
pleased
to
announce
today
that
were
committing
1.3
million
dollars
to
the
city
to
invest
in
this
plan
and
and
become.
F
It's
clearly
gonna
take
increasing
number
of
coalition's
across
this
city
and
different
neighborhoods
to
come
together
and
and
figure
out
how
best
to
to
address
this
issue
and
keep
youth
on
the
right
path.
And
but,
and
hopefully
our
resources
can
help
advance
those
efforts
across
the
city
and
also
help
the
city
keep
a
closer
eye
through
measurement
on.
F
What's
the
patterns
that
are
emerging
across
the
city
before
I
end
I
just
want
to
say
one
other
thing
that
we're
doing
to
try
to
help
the
youth
of
this
area
and
also
help
with
this
addiction
issue,
but
through
prevention
I,
but
a
month
about
a
year
ago,
I
met
with
Joan
and
Leslie
to
talk
about
this
year
summer,
jobs
program
at
Mass,
General
Hospital,
and
they
told
me
how
many
summer
jobs
we
had
the
previous
year
and
I
asked
them.
Well.
F
The
largest
of
any
employer
in
the
city
and
I
hope
we
can
get
a
friendly
competition
going
among
some
of
the
other
large
employers
setting
the
bar
higher
and
higher,
because
the
youth
of
the
city
need
exposure
to
employment
within
our
institutions.
Businesses
within
this
community
and
I
think
that's
one
of
the
most
important
things
that
we
can
do
to
provide
to
prevent
them
from
heading
down
a
different,
less
much
more
dangerous
path.
So
again,
I
want
to
thank
the
mayor
for
his
leadership.
F
A
So,
thank
you
for
those
of
you
who
are
interested
in
the
report
itself.
It
will
be
on
our
city
website
and
widely
distributed,
and
we're
excited
to
hear
about
the
recommendations
that
you
want
to
take
and
implement
with
our
help
again.
Thank
you
to
dr.
Slavin.
Thank
you,
mayor
Walsh,
thank
you
all
for
being
here
and
have
a
great
day.