Somerset County New Options Liaison Spotlight
Keith Bellefleur arrived at a call that started as a mental health crisis and turned into an overdose response. The officer revived the person, and Keith connected him to treatment that same day. Now…
Articles by OPTIONS Editorial Team
Friendship House
When a police officer recognized a resident at a community meeting, he stood to thank the man whose overdose he'd reversed with Narcan years before. That moment captures Friendship House's mission: a…
Inspire Recovery Center — Ellsworth
A man walked into Inspire Recovery Center wanting only a warm place to watch television. Weeks later, he cried during a job interview, describing the space as magical. He'd gone from active substance…
OPTIONS Liaison Spotlight: Dave Bilodeau
Dave Bilodeau met a man who hadn't seen his grandchildren in five years. After helping him into recovery for one month, they reunited at Christmas. Two years later, the man passed, but his family stil…
Maine Treatment and Recovery Runs on Dunkin’
Mike Kleiner arrives at work each morning as a people operations manager for a Dunkin' franchise. This spring, his company began hosting pop-up resource events at 36 Maine locations, offering recovery…
OPTIONS Liaison Spotlight: Lacey Bailey
Lacey Bailey sits at the Sanford Police Department, radio in hand, waiting for the next call. As an OPTIONS Liaison in long-term recovery herself, she answers when people most need someone who underst…
OPTIONS Liaison Spotlight: Dawn Kearns
Dawn Kearns starts her day at 7 am checking overnight reports with Augusta police, then moves through libraries, shelters, and soup kitchens searching for people on her caseload. Years into her own re…
Tucker’s House in Bridgton
Kirsten Wears grew up watching someone she loved struggle with substance use disorder. Years later, laid off during the pandemic, she channeled that experience into founding Tucker's House, a women's…
Career Centers and Grant Program
Rene Smith watches workshop participants practice answering interview questions with HR professionals from local businesses. These mock interviews are part of something bigger: Maine's CareerCenters n…
Coastal Recovery Community Center
In 2016, neighbors gathered to talk about something no one wanted to ignore: substance use disorder was affecting their community. Three people from that conversation became recovery coaches. Today, t…
Safe Harbor
Four organizations in Machias decided to build something together: a recovery home where women could stay, with or without their children. Katie Sell manages Safe Harbor, making sure residents get tra…
OPTIONS Liaison Meets People Where They Are
Tom MacElhaney started his job as a resource guide during lockdown, when isolation hit hardest for people struggling with substances. As someone in long-term recovery himself, he saw the urgent need.…
Oliver Bradeen Born to be … a Responder!
Oliver Bradeen rides along with police officers to calls involving substance use, riding in an unmarked car to meet people in crisis. Now he coaches others doing the same work across Maine. He teaches…
Washington County Centers are a Bright Light
Amy Day parks on Main Street in Calais and unlocks the Downeast Recovery Support Center, where someone might be seeking naloxone, another attending a meeting, a third just needing a smile. In rural Wa…
Gordon Smith
Gordon Smith wasn't trained in medicine or law enforcement. He was a lawyer guiding the Maine Medical Association for three decades when Gov. Janet Mills asked him to lead the state's opioid response.…
Maine Association of Recovery Residences
Ron Springel once told Betty Ford that recovery homes frightened him, filled with "convicts and drug addicts." She replied, "You'll fit in perfectly." Decades later, as executive director of Maine's r…
Law Enforcement Officers: Allies in Uniforms
Kennebunk Police Chief Bob MacKenzie watched the same people cycle through jail repeatedly until he realized the pattern pointed to one root cause: substance use disorder. That recognition shifted eve…
Lakes Region Recovery Center
Aaron Smart puts down whatever he's doing the moment someone walks through the door needing support. At Lakes Region Recovery Center's new Bridgton location, that responsiveness defines the work. Cert…
New Hope Alliance
Katahli and Daryl Blums married while building their recovery residence business together. They run two Maine certified homes where residents progress through phases, writing goodbye letters to their…
Small-town Filmmakers Provide a Way to Open Hearts, Change Perceptions
Small-town Filmmakers Provide a Way to Open Hearts, Change Perceptions
The Maine Mom Program
A woman arrives at her first appointment terrified, ashamed, wondering how she got here. Dr. Alane O'Connor sees many tears at MaineMOM's initial visits. But this program in Maine doesn't judge. It me…
Know Your Rights: Good Samaritan Law in Maine
Someone witnesses an overdose and wants to call 911, but fear stops them. What if they have an outstanding warrant? What if their friend does? Maine's expanded Good Samaritan Law removes that barrier,…