PAACA

Over a quarter-of-a-million dollars in grant funding has been awarded to Seven Hills Behavioral Health to provide substance abuse and HIV prevention services in Greater New Bedford. Congressman William Keating tells WBSM News the nearly $284,000 grant will allow Seven Hills to provide a broad range of services in relation to the Southcoast's opioid problem...

Another sign that the opioid abuses crisis in New Bedford has reached epidemic proportions. At least five drug overdoses have been reported in New Bedford since Tuesday. Also, a 50 year old woman was found dead Thursday from an apparent overdose...

Opioid abuse in New Bedford continues to claim lives, but the fight to save lives is gaining allies everyday. PAACA hosted a program on Monday to mark International Overdose Awareness Day, and to update the community on efforts to educate the public on how they can help loved ones overcome addiction...

International Overdose Awareness Day will be observed this Monday in New Bedford and across the world.

A pilot program in New Bedford has clergy, law enforcement, and counselors stepping into the homes of drug addicts. The program, organized by DrugFreeNB, has been in operation since April, and has ministers, police officers, and drug counselors conducting home visits to people who have recently overdosed on drugs...

The chief sponsor of the Youth Court Program is hopeful funding can be found to keep it operating in New Bedford and Fall River. Carl Alves of Positive Action Against Chemical Addiction says the program joins with schools to bring youthful offenders before a jury of their peers who listen to arguments and decide their fate...

Mother Teresa said the most terrible poverty is loneliness and the feeling of being unloved. When local folks need a helping hand, many times they turn to agencies like PAACA, Positive Action Against Chemical Addiction. The need to help support PAACA is greater than ever, with the huge spike in opioid cases reported...

Heroin users aren't always the strung-out addict in the alley or bridge underpass. More and more often, they're the middle-class housewife next door! Heroin use is reaching into new communities - addicting more and more women and middle-class users - as people hooked on prescription painkillers transition to cheaper illegal drugs, a new report shows...

Heroin and opioid abuse has maintained a steady increase over the past several years, bringing the number of those looking for treatment to record highs. Now community leaders are looking to educate the public and their political representatives on how they can make a difference...

With the amount of fatal heroin overdoses on the Southcoast down, and the number of overdose reversals on the rise thanks to first responders, things are looking up in the fight against heroin and drug abuse. But Carl Alves, director of Positive Action Against Chemical Addiction says there's still a long road ahead...