Stone Soup Kitchen Ministries

  Another animal tranquilizer has joined xylazine to further contaminate street fentanyl: medetomidine  NPR article Image: Canva

Let's help keep prescription drugs out of the wrong hands! The Ayer Police Department is once again proud to be partnering with the Drug Enforcement Administration - DEA in the National Prescription Drug Take Back Initiative on Saturday April 27th, 10am - 2pm! Too often, unused prescription drugs find their way into the wrong hands. That's dangerous and often tragic. That's why it is great to see thousands of folks from across the country clean out their medicine cabinets and turn in - safely and anonymously - the unused medications. Annually, hundreds of tons of prescription drugs are turned in across the country and safely destroyed!. There will be collection boxes set up in the forward lobby of the Ayer Police Department. No appointment, no questions, just throw 'em in the collection box! Thanks for being part of the solution and making Ayer a little safer!

  What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make. ~Jane Goodall I recently listened in on a live-streamed discussion with four Central Mass people who are working in the area of addiction, from the perspectives of law and justice, health and medical, treatment and reintegration, homelessness and mental health. During the program, one person repeatedly yelled in the comments that no one on the panel really cared, because the answer was to close the border to the flow of illicit drugs. While I have a certain amount of sympathy for this person, who may have lost someone close to them because of drugs, I also had to note that only one out of the four people in the discussion had any position of power whatsoever that could have influenced the border.  The rest were people like us at Stone Soup Kitchen, who do what they can within their own sphere of influence.  I found it annoying that they were not hearing anything said by ...

  In memory today of all of those we've loved and lost. I've said before that no one wakes up one morning and decides to become addicted to drugs or alcohol. You can read the rest of that post here: Opioids and other poisons For helpful information and resources, judgment-free, please watch this Addiction 101 video by Tara Rivera which took place at Stone Soup Kitchen. Other resources:  Mass Substance Use hotline: 800-327-5050  Emergency: 800-977-5555 Two programs close by that also act as clearinghouses and can refer you to appropriate places for help: Spanish-American Center   112 Spruce St, Leominster MA 978-534-3145 Restoration Recovery Center    40 Fairmount St, Fitchburg, MA  978-430-0412

  No one wakes up one morning and decides to become addicted to drugs or alcohol. Some people do a "young and stupid" thing and find themselves in a world of hurt. Others become addicted when their doctor prescribes them perfectly legal pain killers. Still others live in a world of mental or emotional suffering, and they are looking for a way to escape that pain for a while. However it happens, addition is a disease, not a character flaw.  ***** From NIH website: Opioid-induced hyperalgesia (OIH): This condition is characterized by a paradoxical response whereby a patient receiving opioids for the treatment of pain could actually become more sensitive to certain painful stimuli. ***** You can see how this could quickly lead to a patient asking for higher doses, followed by increased resistance, and even more pain.  We have no idea what someone else's lived experience is. Please let's not forget that, or ever refer to them as "Those people".  Image: Canva

We were thrilled this evening to have Tara Rivera join us to present her workshop, " Addiction 101 ." If you were unable to join us, please click the link below, and you can watch the presentation from last year. We are very grateful to both Tara, and also to CHNA9 North Central MA for making this program available. Addiction 101  video

  Every Friday : 4pm Social hour, 5pm Potluck dinner, 5:30pm Support group Every Saturday : 10 to noon, food pantry, no registration or ID required Thursday May 4 at 6:00pm, Addiction 101 with Tara Rivera: If you don't come to anything else, please come to this event. Tara's presentation helps to end the stigma and support the change that we want to see in ourselves and/or our loved ones. Tara and other counselors will be on hand afterwards if anyone needs to talk. (This program is made possible in part by a grant from CHNA9.com) Saturday May 13 from 10 till noon, Craft Gathering with Debbie E + Melanie P : Our dynamic duo are back to Tuesday May 23 at 6:00pm, Brain Health with Nurse Maureen Scott : Do you understand the anatomy of your brain and how it works? Let's get together and learn some Brain Games that exercise our brains for optimal health, and learn some tips on how to reduce our risk of neurological illnesses. Tuesday June 6 at 10:00am, Storytime with Mis...

Let's end the stigma and support the change!  Thursday May 4 at 6:00pm. Stone Soup Kitchen, 41 Littleton Road in Ayer MA This is an open presentation for everyone, whether you are having challenges with addiction, or you love someone else who is. Tara Rivera will be covering both the biological and the psychological roots of addiction, and there will be time afterwards for more private discussions if you need resource suggestions. 

  We are so blessed to be able to present again this year a very important seminar by Tara Rivera, Treatment Advocate.  Tara leads a conversation about addiction, which includes both the physical and the emotional/social aspects of the disease.  Once we understand what addiction is all about, then we can finally work more effectively towards treatment and prevention.  This seminar is for both people struggling with addiction in any form and for those who love them.     Please join us for a very special evening with Tara on Thursday May 4, 2023 at 6:00pm.  The seminar will be held at Stone Soup Kitchen, 41 Littleton Road in Ayer MA.  No registration is required, and your privacy will be respected with no photos being taken.  Refreshments will be served afterwards for those who would like to talk a bit more with Tara.  Please email stonesoupkitchenministries at gmail dot com for more information.