by Jeff Stone

The Town of Milton was well represented on September 23rd with 14 participants at a regional conference on Prevention of Underage Drinking and Substance Abuse. The meeting was held at Linden Ponds in Hingham and sponsored by South Shore Hospital’s Youth Health Connections, Blue Hills Community Health Alliance and Cohasset Social Service League.

Many communities, including Milton, have formed new action coalitions in the past year, acknowledging the increasing number of opioid overdoses and deaths that cut across all social classes. Milton’s contingent included Milton Schools personnel and students, as well as people from the Board of Health and the Parks & Recreation Department. Many South Shore communities participated, hearing from speakers on the need to build broad coalitions, gather accurate community information via surveys and other data resources, and how to conduct effective community outreach and education on the facts about underage drinking and substance use and how to address the issues. Each community shared their own experiences and brainstormed further action steps.