In the News

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97.3 WZBG around the towns, this time talking with the folks from McCall. Behavioral Health Network. Every third Wednesday, you can pretty much put it on your calendar that we speak with the folks from McCall. McCall has been quite a growing organization, especially in the last few years. And this morning, we’re talking with the Senior Director of Human Resources at McCall, Sean Lewis. And Sean, good morning.

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Welcome to the show.

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Oh, good morning. Thanks for having me.

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Thanks for joining us on the show. Now, you’ve been in human resources for quite a number of years.

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Yeah, about 15 years or so.

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Fifteen years.

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Yeah. Almost a couple of years now with McCall.

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over two years, almost two and a half.

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So I guess you started in finance, but moved over to HR.

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Yes, I did.

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Prefer that part of it, people over the dollars, that kind of thing?

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Yeah, they kind of go hand in hand. That’s very true.

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You know, we’re going to talk about the staff, and now they’re number 200 across the organization. Yeah, we’ve grown over the years. I know we merged a couple of years ago, a few years ago, with HELP.

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incorporated that kind of like doubled our size and then we have to continue to grow since then. Yeah, so it’s up to about 200 employees and you like to say the greatest asset is your staff.

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There’s a story behind that, isn’t there? Yeah, so early in my career, Many years ago, I was sitting with my boss at the time, and we were kind of going through, kind of like projecting the budget for the new year. He’s a finance guy. Projecting the budget for the new year. And we got to a point where we had to decide, how are we going to define our staff? And we kept going back and forth.

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came up with our greatest asset is our staff. You can imagine he loved it because he’s an HR. I mean, he’s a finance guy with the word asset. But, you know, kind of using that going forward over the years, that has always stuck with me. And, you know, everywhere that I go, and especially in McCall, you know, we realize that, you know, we’re not able to fulfill our mission unless we have, you know, their staff, the skills, the talent, the vision of the staff is kind of what makes us who we are. So they are our most important resource.

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So they are.

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you know, our greatest asset. Well, also in the service industry and the service that you folks provide, too.

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I think the human component, without a doubt, has to be, you know, without it, you can’t do what you do. Yeah, we can’t do what, you know, what we do. You know, we have, you know, we have exceptional staff, but we have to have compassionate staff who, you know, they come every day and they work with folks. who are going through a tough time. We deal with folks that have substance abuse and mental health disorders. And so they’re looking for that person that will kind of help them not only just kind of get through that, but also be compassionate and caring and provide all those kind of human factors that you kind of mentioned there.

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So that’s really critical to the type of work that we do. And with that skill set too, you’ve got to appreciate that kind of staff.

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Let’s talk about the ways in which you can show that appreciation so they feel valued. So appreciation is not just a one -time thing. You don’t just have an annual appreciation event that you have. It has to be part of your culture and kind of ongoing. So at McCall, we do it on a daily basis through celebrations, team meetings, appreciation events. And we try to make sure that we highlight that at all times.

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We think it’s important that if you highlight the work that people do. It helps them feel better about themselves. That comes across in the work that they do, and the clients definitely will see that.

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It will make for better, you know, better interaction with the client and better outcomes. Our guest this morning, if you’re joining us, is Shawn Lewinson, a Senior Director of Human Resources at McCall BHN, across some 200 employees in the organization. You’ve been with the organization now, McCall, for a couple of years. Why work for McCall?

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What makes an exceptional place to work? I think it’s the culture. There’s a cliche, people always say you’re kind of like a family, but we’re truly like a family there. I think we know that people are in that work because They’re in that field because that’s the type of work that they want to do. They’re drawn to it for a reason. And so, you know, just people coming in every day and want to make a difference in people’s lives and kind of doing the different things that we do makes it enjoyable when you see the outcomes of kind of what happens, you know.

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And everyone plays a different role, you know, from the clinicians to the front desk to the admin staff. You know, we had a client that, you know, came in recently, and the first interaction that they had was with someone in the parking lot who was not a clinician. It was an administrative staff. And as an administrative staff, sometimes you’ll think you’re kind of behind the scenes and you pay the bills or you do things, but you don’t realize sometimes the impact that you might directly have on a client. So when a client walks in, the first person that they see, they’re already nervous. They’re already not sure exactly what they want to do.

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And so they come into interaction with that person, and that person gives them a smile. directs them where they want to go. So they always start off by having a positive experience.

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And I think that’s critical in the type of work that we do. It sounds like though everyone has their particular role, it might be administrative, it might be as a clinician or whatever.

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Still, the way in which you convey that compassion that you say what McCall is all about, that’s got to be across across the entire You know, workforce. Yes, it has to be across the entire workforce.

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And I think that’s why when we, you know, we share experiences with staff, we share it in all different forums, in all staff meetings, in team meetings, so everyone can recognize the role that they play and realize that their piece also is part of the mission of the organization and really goes to the good that we do. That being a two -way street,

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street, you know, in trying to show the appreciation for staff, do you get the feedback back from them that they appreciate that, that they recognize that they are being recognized, and it’s not just, you know, it’s not just you know, talk, but there’s actually some value there.

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Yes.

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You know, they tell us all the time that, you know, they appreciate kind of being told kind of, you know, the work that they do and that’s being recognized for that.

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Who doesn’t love validation?

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Everybody loves that.

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Yes. So, you know, and, you know, we do create an environment also at McCall where, you know, It’s not just leadership that is telling, doing all the talking and telling folks what to do. We kind of listen to our employees and we kind of get feedback and value from them.

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So we allow them to kind of tell us what’s happening and kind of what works for them and what doesn’t work for them and kind of feedback that they’re getting from the clients in general. It’s amazing how quickly our time goes here. We’re down to really a final minute of the broadcast and our time together. Shawn Lewinson is our guest, Senior Director of Human Resources at McCall.

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But just in closing, the approach you take, the valuation of employees and why that makes things work at McCall. Yeah, I think one of the things also is that we’ve been named top workplace for eight years in a row and that’s direct feedback from our staff. So that kind of goes to you talking about if staff value kind of what we do. And I would say, I think McCall is a great place to work, now that I think I know.

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We do a great impact, we have great impact on the lives of others and as an organization we value our employees and we show that every day. Well, I’m sure they appreciate it some 200 strong and growing and Sean I’m sure if we have you in here again It’ll be 200 plus right? Yeah, you guys are just you guys are just moving on up.

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We appreciate your time today We appreciate the work that all you folks at McCall do day in and day out and look forward to speaking with you again in the future

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Okay, thanks.

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It was good to be here. Shawn Lewinson, our guest this time. 97 .3 WZBG, back to the newsroom with Jeff in half a minute.

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21 -873 -WZBG, January 21st, third Wednesday of the month. For those who book their calendar that way, that’s when we do a visit with the folks from the McCall Behavioral Health Network. Joining us this morning from McCall, Joshua Lucurzi, who’s a digital marketing manager at McCall, is our guest this morning. Good morning, Joshua.

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Good morning.

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Thanks for having me.

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Thanks for joining us on the show. So it is, you know, we’re three weeks into January. And of course, a common theme for many folks is to make resolutions or try to make changes in January. Usually by this time, a lot of folks have fallen off or fallen away from those commitments that they made on January 1st. But at the same time, you know, January, because it is a fresh start, it’s a brand new year, I think our minds automatically reset. And it’s like, all right, this is a good time.

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to make changes because you get a fresh start, you get a brand new year. But it’s not that simple, is it?

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It’s not. And everything I’m about to say is coming from the king of failed, failed New Year’s resolutions. I’ve had the same resolutions for at least 10 years, and they fail every year, sometimes months, weeks, even days. And I’m sure there’s people right now that they haven’t even started or gotten into the things that they want to do. And make a change with. And, you know, January, kind of like you said, I think everyone is in that first step of they have the motivation, the energy, the excitement to make some changes, to look at their lifestyle, see what they want to improve on, see what they want to bring into their life.

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But like you said, it’s not that simple. There’s roadblocks. And for some reason, a little bit of time goes by. the latter end of January and we kind of fall off those resolutions.

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And there’s a reason for that I guess it’s it’s a little bit like I guess trying to keep going on an empty tank you know you you you need something that’s going to propel you something that’s going to sustain that motivation. So what’s the missing equation?

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Yeah, so I think I figured it out. So after 10 years, after 10 years, so two of my resolutions, one of them has been exercising and going to the gym and another one has been playing more music. I used to play the saxophone all throughout my life and it’s kind of been this missing piece of me as it’s been collecting dust in the basement for 15 years. Um, and every year January comes and it’s that you know that first step is there having the motivation having the energy that next step which is getting yourself ready to go you know for the gym getting those new sneakers getting the new clothes looking at a workout plan getting that gym membership or you know getting yourself psyched all the tools you need but then the actual moment where it’s time to do it you either don’t do it or you do it for a couple weeks or a couple months and then it falls off and what comes with that a lot of times and this is what i experience every year around this time is so much shame and frustration and feeling like there’s something wrong with me i can’t do some of these simple little things that i want to change about my life and it just doesn’t last where’s my willpower right yeah and it’s like what is going on with me and I noticed this year I didn’t make a declaration of these are the things I’m going to change, but it kind of hit me that I’m actually doing and following through on some of my resolutions and trying to think about what has changed. It dawned on me. So I recently on McCall’s social media shared a video testimonial from one of our alumni.

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His name is Dan, who had a sports injury and then fell into substance use disorder. our alumni. Then the second half of the video, he doesn’t dive into the ins and outs of treatment. He doesn’t dive into like the clinical side of things, how it’s helping him. He talks a lot about the people. He talks a lot about being in a group, how a group provides accountability, shared live experience, how just the camaraderie of being with other people.

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And that’s when it dawned on me, like, why am I now going to the gym? the past month. It’s because instead of 10 years of trying to go have my own workout plan, do my own thing. I started doing a cycling class, started doing a strength training class. My wife is also on board and we’ve been going together. Um, you know, with my saxophone, I, every year I’m like, I’m going to get a new music stand.

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I’m going to get a new this like a couple months ago. I’m like, I think I should get a new saxophone. That’ll help me play more. It’ll sound better. And didn’t. But I joined a band.

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I joined the Symphonic Band and now I’m practicing. And so it’s like watching this video of Dan talking about people, it clicked that what works for me is when I let people into my life, into my goals, and I’m accomplishing those things with others. And I have other people’s accountability. And when I’m not at that cycling class, they’re like, where’s Josh? He should be here. Or when I’m not in band, it’s like, well, there’s one less saxophone.

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Something sounds off. And that’s what has been helping me.

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Yep, I think I can relate to that a little bit. Some years ago when I wanted to get into running for competition, it started as a dare here in the studio from a guest in the studio about being able to train for the Litchfield Hills Road Race. And my motivation was I accepted the guy’s challenge. and I was training with other people to run the race and run it for the first time. I had never run a race at that length before. But again, having that camaraderie, that shared goal, that connection, that support kept me going and got me to that place to where I ran the race.

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And you know, I’m stuck with the running for another 10 years before backing off on it.

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But yeah, having that support, having that backup, having somebody who’s got your six i think um you know maybe provides that continued motivation to get through it yeah and i think it’s so much harder for people that have some of these really serious challenges or roadblocks that they’re trying to overcome. You know, here I am, I’m talking about, you know, trying to play my saxophone more. But the there’s people that wake up on January 1st and they look in the mirror and they say, this is the year I reduce my drinking. This is the year that I really I do more for my mental health. Maybe I’m going to meditate more. Maybe I’m going to, you know, do this or that.

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But again, I think there’s that missing piece of trying to put in the effort and make this whole plan for yourself. I’m going to do it. I’m going to reduce this. I’m going to, I’m going to dump all of it in the sink today. I’m going to, um, throw out whatever, whatever. And, but then nothing happens, you know, then you go and you get more, whatever.

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And I think, it’s when you really allow yourself to think that seeking for help, asking for help, looking for a group of people that are in the exact same boat is not a weakness. It’s actually a strategy. It’s really what, and thinking about it as like, you know, I’m not going to this group to fix myself. I’m going to this group because there are other people that are in my shoes and I think they could help. And I think reframing it that way could be really powerful.

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A lot about realistic goal setting, too. You know, don’t going down the rabbit hole of, you know, I’m a failure because I can’t do this on sheer will on my own. And the other is, you know, setting this marker that is unattainable. you know, to work toward it and to get there is, you know, is much more satisfying and sustainable than setting some goal for perfection that It’s just out of your reach.

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Exactly. That is a huge piece of it. Um, you know, I think back to one time when I was really in a good gym routine was when I had a friend with me in college. Then we graduated, that ended. Then I got really into it again when I was about to get married because I wanted to feel good and look good for my wedding. And then, um, the wedding came and then that was it.

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And so, um, You know, I think we have to realize that there are kind of these ups and downs with our goals, but sometimes we just stay in the down and we never go back. Or we kind of go up, like sometimes this time in January we go up, we’re feeling good, but then we start going down. And I think having others there to kind of get you back up and then when you do fall a little bit, they can help you.

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Recognize that it’s okay that you’re down there and help build you up a little bit So for those who are listening and maybe struggling with substance or with something that is compromising your life and your goals Just think about those goals in a new way reframe that support and treatment And how you’re going to go about it and find a way to sustain it. Even if it’s not perfection. It’s You’re working, you’re moving in the right direction, which is okay. Unintentional ride, but there it is. Josh Lucurzi, our guest this morning from McCall Behavioral Health Network. Appreciate having you on the show.

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Yeah, thank you so much. I appreciate it.

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I know you’ve been dodging all the upper respiratory stuff and everything this year.

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I made it today.

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You made it today. We’re glad you did. Thanks, Josh.

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All right, another happy New Year guest on the program, someone we’ve talked to before from an organization that’s been a spectacular resource for the award winning for the people over the years. I’m talking about McCall Behavioral Health Network. Joy Pandola is back with us. She’s the chief clinical officer. And we are sending our gratitude to the Cigna Group Foundation. And congratulations to McCall Behavioral Health Network.

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Network for successfully receiving another round of grant funds, this time in excess of $101 ,000, to continue in the process of addressing youth mental health, self -harm, and substance use issues. We’re going to talk all about that how they’re going to apply that grant and some of the trends that Joy and her team are seeing at McCall that may be involving a young person that you love in your family, your classroom, or your community. But first, we want to talk about another issue that’s going on. We see it everywhere in the news. We hear about it everywhere. I’m talking about weight loss supplements.

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According to Better Business Bureau serving Connecticut, when it comes to New Year’s resolutions, scammers know that losing weight and getting in shape is one of the most popular goals. This popularity has led to a slew of scams involving vitamins, supplements, and weight loss drugs, all claiming to offer rapid results. Not only are these products themselves questionable, but so are the business dealings of the companies peddling them. If you’d like to Avoid weight loss scams. BBB recommends that you always be wary of advertisements and customer endorsements promising miracle results or immediate weight loss. Don’t be quick to trust those endorsements.

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Avoid products that claim to help lose weight without diet or exercise. Check a product’s ingredients with the FDA online and online research for the company you’re doing business with can be completed at BBB . org before you purchase. And if you do find that you’ve been victim of a scam, re -report that scam or any deceptive ads that you might see through the BBB scam tracker. All right, Joy, thank you so much for joining us. We appreciate you and all your team there at McCall Behavioral Health Network.

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And good news, when you get a nice grant to do important work, even better news when you get another one that not only allows you to continue that good work, but expand it. And that’s where this Cigna Group Foundation Next Round Grant comes in, right?

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Right.

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And John, so nice to be with you. And we are so grateful to the Cigna Group Foundation. You’re right, they had previously awarded us a sizable grant, which allowed us to expand our child and adolescent services in Waterbury. We wouldn’t have been able to do that without that support. And then we’re so grateful and pleasantly surprised that when we applied again, they gave us an additional $100 ,000 to expand our staffing so that we could provide even more services in both Waterbury and Torrington where our child and adolescent services are held.

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So let’s talk about the new programming as an extension of the grant that you had already received from this foundation which allowed you to sort of get this whole ball rolling.

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Yes. What the second grant afforded us, the most recent one, it’s afforded us to expand services within the area of, you know, greater Litchfield County and Waterbury. There is pretty much a consistent trend where for child and adolescent mental health services, there’s usually, especially outpatient, there’s usually wait times. Obviously there’s costs involved. And then when there’s ever a need for medication, those waits could be months if you could find a resource at all. So what this grant has allowed us to do is add an additional clinician who splits her time between Waterbury and Torrington to provide outpatient services.

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So that helps with access and also, you know, with those particular needs of early intervention and intervention before things get to a crisis point.

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And it also allowed us to expand our medication management and psychiatric services, uh, to child and adolescents so that we could provide that med management for them as well, which is often a service that’s also very difficult to access. So, uh, looking at the statistics, uh, in the past seven years, youth mental health conditions that have been able to be identified have increased almost 30%.

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Does this match the trending that you’re seeing at McCall? It certainly does. And that trend is actually across the board. It’s with adults as well. That’s, you know, mental health needs have increased, but particularly for child and adolescents, we have seen, you know, an increase in need of services. Of course, and increase in severe.

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as well, you know, self -harm, suicide ideation, substance use disorders. And there aren’t a lot of services in the area for adolescents dealing with all of these issues at, you know, an outpatient level of care. So we’re doing our best to fill those gaps. And this grant has certainly helped.

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And we’re hoping that it doesn’t just improve access that also helps in avoiding higher levels of care, hospitalizations, crisis emergencies, so that we can actually improve the course before it gets to that point. Or on the other end of things, if they have had a crisis were utilized, um very frequently with urgent care and with hospitals to be that step down resource for for kids and uh taking that to the to the next step i imagine a lot of that uh has to do with why you are applying this expertise at McCall Behavioral Health to young people as young as eight years old, getting ahead of a chronic situation that has settled in, so to speak, to an older individual in their mid to late teens. Let’s talk a little bit about how you folks are looking at treating and supporting kids that are, you know, 8, 9, 10 years old who may not even really have solid memories of the COVID era versus those 15, 16, 17 whose lives may have fundamentally been changed

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due to the experiences that they had during COVID. Yes, I think, you know, the approach for a younger child in treatment is quite different from how you would treat, you know, you have to consider those developmental, you know, differences. But to your point, John, you know, even just life, life was very different for somebody who’s currently 16 and remembers COVID and remembers that interruption in their social life, in their school life. And, you know, many things were put to a halt and how much their lives may be online versus, you know, otherwise, whereas somebody who’s, you know, a kid who’s eight, nine, 10 years old, you know, we’re relying a great deal on engaging those caregivers, those parents, and to support them in the developmental stage they are with whatever issues. that they are having, you know, with mental health, you know, early on. And then coming up with those skills, not only for the child, but also the caregivers, how to support them and really, you know, address them so that they’re not ongoing chronic issues as they move forward in their lives.

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And I think that’s the key, you know, and I’m such an advocate for, you know, with substance use as well, you know, most people start using substances in their teens who then develop a substance use disorder. It’s a good 90 % start. So I’ve always been such an advocate of early intervention and intervention in adolescents because you could really prevent, you know, a chronic condition to, you know, progress.

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You know, it’s a much more serious issue, you know, 10, 20, 30 years down the road.

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Well McCall’s an innovator in that respect because you are among the scant few, if many other agencies like yours, in realizing and embracing the need to support the youngest of our Connecticut and your jurisdictional residents with substance abuse education and prevention. Yes, there are very few organizations that treat adolescents with mental health and substance use disorders, and we do it on the outpatient and intensive outpatient basis. There are very few. I’ve been in the field for almost 30 years, and there’s less treatment options for adolescents now than there was 20 years ago, believe it or not.

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And we really are filling that gap in the area and you know, we get referrals from you know other organizations from schools like I said hospitals urgent care because we do have We do cater our treatment to co -occurring disorders So, you know whether you have a you know, a substance use disorder a mental health disorder or both We can accommodate you and and treat that.

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Mm -hmm something else that really changes over the course of a young person’s aging between 8 and 17, the period during which McCall is focusing on for a lot of this expanding support, is the utilization and the impact that things like the Internet and social networks have on these young people’s lives. Of course, of course. And I think it’s it’s isolated. kids more. than ever before. But I also, I really try to put myself in, you know, a kid’s today’s shoes.

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I couldn’t imagine, you know, having this online life and this real world life. and basically anything that I may post, a thought, a feeling, a picture to get, you know, constant feedback and opinions from people I know and people I don’t know. And what kind of pressure that puts on, you know, a kid in regards to that socialization and that development. I can only imagine how stressful that is, but how, you know, that just really kind of reinforces you know, a sense of self in different ways. It could morph into, you know, so many other issues that may come down the line around identity and self -worth. but also just how often people are online, kids especially, and not developing those social skills, those communication skills in real life and activities that maybe are more in a group setting.

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That changes folks’ ability to communicate and socialize and develop those skills, especially in those developmental stages.

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So I think it’s very impactful. In the last few minutes that we have with you, Joy, please reach out to the extent that we can to parents, caregivers, educators, loved ones. Let them know what you’re seeing on the front lines and what they should be looking for in terms of behavioral or other issues tied to their young people in their lives between the ages of

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and 17 that might be able to be assisted through McCall Behavioral Health Network? Sure, John. I mean, we talked about some of the, you know, big things, you know, post -pandemic, you know, certainly online activity and life, but those are some undercurrent stressors. But I think Generally, we’re seeing in this age group when kids, just a higher potential for stress, whether that be family stress or school stress or social stressors, and maybe not developing, like I said, or having that support network built in because of some of these factors that have happened. So I think, you know, if you see, you know, a kid who’s under a lot of stress or duress or speaking about that, if you see somebody, you know, changing and withdrawing more from activities or socially, or if you see just real changes in a child, I think those are all telltale signs that something is going on. And, you know, we have an access point of our primary care contact number 860 -496 -2100.

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That phone number is manned pretty much 60 hours a week, Monday through Friday, with live people who will take information, schedule appointments, and get you in with services as soon as possible. We do have child and adolescent specialists who will certainly help navigate resources and services. We will do a full assessment to determine, you know, what your child’s needs are. And like I said, we have outpatient,

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we have outpatient individual, family, group, and then our intensive outpatient services and medication management, both in, like I said, Torrington and Waterbury. Very good. And before we say farewell, let folks know what else is on your agenda in terms of the role that you’re playing with McCall Behavioral Health Network.

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What are some of the other things that you have made resolutions to address or improve in 2026? I think, you know, we’re also looking at other Addictions, including online addictions, gambling addictions, those are things that actually now with online gaming are becoming increasingly more of an issue for younger people. So that’s something that we’re definitely looking at. And again, always just how we can provide the services to folks most in need. We do treat anybody regardless of payment. And certainly just keeping our eye on, you know, how we can best serve folks and where those gaps are and how we could fill those gaps.

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I think that’s something very special about McCall and something, you know, I’m always very interested in is, you know, what’s missing that really is a need and really trying to find a way to fill that need.

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And again, we’ve just been very fortunate to have great partners like the Cigna Foundation to help us with that.

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Very good. Your journey toward the light with McCall Behavioral Health Network starts at their website McCallBHN . org and we’ve been talking with Joy Pendola who’s the chief clinical officer from McCall Behavioral Health Network. They have received a $101 ,200 grant from the Cigna Group Foundation to address child and adolescent outpatient mental health services in the Greater Waterbury and Torrington areas. We appreciate your work and your team.

0:17:38 Joy, thank you so much for being part of the program this morning, and we’ll talk to you again soon.

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822 -973 -WZBG. Third Wednesday of the month, you know it’s going to be a visit with the McCall Behavioral Health Network. I want to introduce a new guest this morning. Farrah McCullough joins us. She’s a family recovery coach with the Community Engagement Department at McCall Behavioral Health Network. Farrah, welcome to the show.

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Thank you for having me.

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Thanks for joining us. When we talk about family recovery, this is something that’s that’s not new at McCall, but it is something that we want to broaden and make better known, right?

0:00:46

It sure is. We know that the whole support system of the person who we may recognize as the client needs recovery services. And so that is my job as a family recovery coach. I work with family members to provide support to them.

0:01:05

So the family really is part of the team. I mean, they have to be all in on this. And that’s where you guys facilitate that, right?

0:01:13

Absolutely. We know that only about 2 % of family members ever get any type of supportive services. And so we want to change that.

0:01:23

That’s a little surprising. We had a chance to chat before coming in on the show, and I’m thinking, 2 %? Boy, we got a long way to go here. Now, as you and I had this interview, of course, we have a case in point. It’s an extreme worst case scenario, of course, the death of Rob Reiner and his wife, apparently at the hands of a son who has struggled with mental health issues and with substance use disorder. for years.

0:01:50

The first important thing is that this is not a typical case. This is an extremely rare occurrence, a worst case scenario as we said, but at the same time it puts in the spotlight that this is not something that’s new in American families.

0:02:04

It’s very true. Very true. And the Reiner family did a beautiful job talking about their struggles. Right. And we just you know, our nation really is talking this week about how we can show up for our loved ones who are struggling. And I just really want to dispel the stigma that’s being perpetuated that folks who struggle with mental health and addiction are violent.

0:02:32

This was a rare occurrence and it was devastating and horrific. Very much so, but it does point up that this, I don’t want to say we need to normalize this, but we need to accept that this is normal, that people struggle. I mean two plain facts here, people struggle, I think we’re getting ourselves around that fact now and getting past that stigma when it comes to mental health and substance issues.

0:02:56

And the other is that they’re part of some family somewhere, so that family dynamic is going to be part of the picture and we want to move them toward recovery.

0:03:05

Absolutely, and I wish that we had our program across the nation because I think that we’re really doing some niche and special work with family members here in Litchfield County and really we’re growing so across a lot of Connecticut now. Now holidays can be especially challenging because it can be a very emotional time and lots of times differences in families can come to the fore and can be exacerbated during the holidays. Let’s talk about how we navigate that a little bit for families out that are thinking, oh boy, here we go.

0:03:42

So just a few words about that.

0:03:44

Sure, sure. I am working with a lot of families right now who are headed into the holidays and these are confusing feelings that they’re having and that, you know, be challenging to honor our difficult feelings. You may be thinking, why is everyone else so happy right now? I am not feeling it. And what is wrong with me?

0:04:05

And there’s nothing wrong with you. And I often suggest making a list and starting to acknowledge what is difficult and potentially uncomfortable. as you head into the holidays. Because when we name what values to us, we can set boundaries around that to protect what makes us happy. And so there can be happiness. There can be joy.

0:04:32

Try to show your loved ones compassion if they are uncomfortable with your limits that you’ve set. Don’t over explain.

0:04:44

Don’t apologize.

0:04:45

Right.

0:04:46

The deeper you can get into the weeds, the weedier it gets.

0:04:49

That is so true.

0:04:50

Yeah. So try to keep things as simple as possible, but sort of like not talking about politics at Thanksgiving Certain topics you just let you know what for this holiday gathering.

0:05:01

Let’s just not go there.

0:05:02

Absolutely When you think about what can be done to avoid issues that may have caused trauma in the past around the holidays And potentially brainstorm with your loved one and get their buy -in And including them in the process will make them possible more likely to change and give them some motivation. Open communication. Our guest, if you’re joining us this morning, Farrah McCullough, she’s a family recovery coach in the Community Engagement Department at McCall Behavioral Health Network.

0:05:34

I want to get back to more about the program, about family recovery, because there are lots of families out there, and if they’re hearing this right now, how does that process begin? How do we get people in the mix and start down that path? Sure. It is as simple as our front desk or going on our website and getting in contact with me to make a referral to our program. And then I work with you.

0:06:01

I meet you where you’re at, literally, whether that is in your home or my office or a coffee shop or a park, wherever you’re comfortable. And I become your your ally. And oftentimes I am. I’m there to listen.

0:06:15

It’s a lonely place when you have a loved one who you’re not sure how to move forward with and you want to better your relationship and so I’m there for you.

0:06:27

In your experience when you begin that process with a family is it more likely that the person who is in the struggle might reach out to you or is it some family member who Wants to be the leader in this and wants to get that that family unit moving in a common direction For the most part for my program it is the family member.

0:06:48

So it’s a parent.

0:06:49

It’s a sibling. It’s a spouse and they are contacting me and we begin our work and so it is providing education about the stages of addiction and Recovery and change and what that looks like and what that doesn’t look like to improve communication and setting boundaries. And you know, a lot of times family members have become addicted themselves to trying to change and control their loved one’s behavior. So shifting that focus, because often family members suffer from self -neglect. Because they’re so wanting to devote all of their time and energy into their loved one.

0:07:38

And so I work with them on goal setting and shifting to self -care. Sounds like sometimes unintentionally.

0:07:45

members who are trying to resolve a problem can create roadblocks of their own that can impede the progress rather than improving it. Absolutely.

0:07:54

So we work to identify those as well. I know that McCall has lots of safe spaces for families to gather.

0:08:00

Do you find that that families, when they enter into this process, prefer to do so in their own home or within the space of McCall?

0:08:06

Or does it vary? It definitely varies. We also have a Wednesday night support group for family members.

0:08:14

And so that is a beautiful space for family members to come and share and be supported by other family members. So the holidays can be difficult, but this is a time when maybe emotions or awareness are particularly high about an issue that may be going on with a family. Our guest this time has been Farrah McCullough, family recovery coach at McCall.

0:08:35

Our time is already up, but I wanted to give you a chance just closing remarks or just for folks to reach out if they find themselves in this place. Absolutely. You know, I hope that, you know, the goal is to diminish the dread that people may be feeling. this holiday season and especially if there’s grief if you’ve lost a loved one. So try to be intentional about finding joy.

0:09:01

And reach out.

0:09:02

It can be a challenge.

0:09:03

It sure can. Easier said than done, right? And so have self -compassion. I think that that’s a big part too. And reach out to us about all of our services, but about the Family Recovery Coach Program and our weekly support group that’s called Recovering Together at our website, which is mccallbhn . org and our front desk.

0:09:25

Those folks are so helpful and they can get you connected. 

0:09:28

The phone number is 860 -496 -2150.

0:09:32

The important work that you guys do and we wish you all the best continued success in 2026. Thank you so much.

0:09:38

Happy Holidays. Farrah McCullough. our guest this time on 97 .3 WZBG back to the newsroom.

0:09:43

Hey there, Jeff.

*Due to technical difficulties, the first 15 seconds of this interview was not recorded.

0:00:00

…you’re waiting patiently, you’re doing the right thing, you’re being a responsible driver, and somebody cuts in front of you, and you get so mad. And so I’m thinking about two things as it relates to that. One is, have you ever had the experience where that person that cut in front of you turns out to be either an elderly person, and it wasn’t intentional, or it’s somebody that you know, like maybe your dear friend’s daughter, and your whole view towards them changes. And you create some space and understanding, oh, my gosh, I’m sure they didn’t mean to be a jerk to me. And so I think about that. And I think that will, you know, we’ll talk about that in a second.

0:00:43

But I also think about when we overreact to something small like that. it always means that something is going on with ourselves. Maybe I’m really, you know, I’m having a lot of stress in my life. I’ve got a lot going on and this feels like one more thing. So I think that callousness is usually attributable to one of those things. Either it’s self -protective or it’s that we don’t find anything relatable in the other person.

0:01:16

I think that’s a good way to begin, and I like the juxtaposition that you created with the traffic incident with somebody being a perfect stranger, then suddenly you realize it’s somebody that you know. If you have that connection, if you have some kind of kinship or familiarity with the other party, suddenly your view of what just happened changes. And I think that’s what we all need to try to get in our mindset of it here. Because there really is more that connects us than divides us, right?

0:01:48

Absolutely. And I think there are, like, there’s also these forces at work right now. There’s power structures that, rather than looking up and understanding systems are actually doing significant harm to particularly vulnerable populations, we’re getting messages to maybe be afraid or be angry at others. And that requires us to diminish the humanity in one another. It keeps us out of relationship with other people.

0:02:22

And then it’s easier to be callous and to be self -protective because we can say, well, it’s keeping me safe. Exactly. And that is human nature. It’s not to forgive us for it, but it’s to really try to move us toward our better angels. It’s like, yes, sure. And given current political climate and things that are going on, you can’t help but feel At the very least, unease.

0:02:44

And at the very most, downright afraid and concerned for fellow citizens. So that tends to make you self -protective. Pushing beyond that, I think, is our collective challenge.

0:02:57

I’ve seen example after example of us being able to do this. We have the capacity to be sophisticated, to stretch, like our hearts are elastic, and we can stretch and understand that humanity, recognize that in one another, and also see that there are injustices happening, and push against those things, rather than turning on one another and placing blame and shame on our neighbors. I’m not sure if we’re in a moment where this kind of collective thought may move in that direction, but it’s never been more evident in front of us. It seems like for certain parties, for certain people, regardless of their circumstances, it’s like this is a hard lesson time.

0:03:39

It’s not a time to understand why someone is in a certain place or situation, but this is wrong because we say it is, and you’re going to pay for it, and it’s gonna be very public. And that whole thing, it’s stark, it’s frightening, um and hopefully it’s it’s a point to where we’re going to ponder how we got here and how we get back to a kinder place right i think so and i think it starts with this idea that that someone who is hungry or homeless or suffering in any way is somehow cutting in front of us in line and taking something from a person who maybe has worked hard and deserved it. And I think we have to challenge that narrative. I’ve shared this story several times, but Sunday after church, my dad was at Trinity in Torrington and shared a story with me that he was at coffee hour in the parish hall and a person in a wheelchair, an elderly woman who had had a meal at the soup kitchen, wheeled up into the parish hall and was looking to say thank you. to the community that makes sure that people are fed and that people are warm.

0:04:56

And so she found my dad, who is a member of the vestry, and she said, I want to contribute.

0:05:05

And she gave everything that she had, and that was $0 .51. Wow. $0 .51. $0 .51. And she got to listen to the choir rehearse. And she felt part of, rather than somebody who is taking from, And I think all of us, every single one of us, want avenues to be able to be part of community.

0:05:30

And that includes being contributing members. And are we creating pathways in our hearts, in our minds, and in our structures so that we are all part of a community? And I think we’re almost out of time, but I also think like, if you find that that is hard to find that space to recognize the humanity, and you’re like, well, wait, no, there’s, I am mad, I am angry, I am lonely, or maybe, no, you don’t understand Maria and Dale. I’ve done things that have done harm, and I can’t find space to forgive myself.

0:06:11

That’s where we can meet you, and like, that’s what therapy’s for. That’s where we can sit with folks and help define that space, that grace, that self -compassion, so that we can recognize the humanity in one another. And that’s been the big come around for really all of our interviews that we’ve had here with the McCall Behavioral Health Network, is that finding that way toward healing of that better place, wherever your battle is, it starts with connection.

0:06:39

It starts with making a connection and having someone with empathy and compassion meet you where you are. and help guide you, help you along to where you want to be. Nobody’s too far gone. Like, if that’s feeling like you’re in such a dark place, or you’re lonely, or you’re really worried about somebody else, we’ll meet you there.

0:07:00

Maria Coutant Skinner, pleasure having you on the show.

0:07:03

Always great to be with you, Dan.

0:07:04

Thank you so much for all the great work that you and the folks at McCall do each and every day. Thank you.

0:07:09

Appreciate you.

0:07:10

And the best for the holidays, of course. Yes, you too.

0:07:12

And with that, we’ll head back to the newsroom and get your bottom hour update. Hey there, Jeff. Hello, Dale. Thank you. Great job, Maria, as always.

0:00:07

97 .3 WZBG getting our visitor monthly visit once a month. We check in health wise with the folks from the McCall Behavioral Health Network and this time review cast. John Fecteau is director of mental health at McCall. 

0:00:22

Welcome back. 

0:00:23

Thank you for having me. Good to have you on the show. Our topic this morning is is mental illness and I feel like there is. There is something of a mainstreaming about about mental illness that it is now. Less about stereotype and more about a general acceptance that this is something that a lot of folks deal with Definitely much more so I mean even in the so far I’ve been in the field for about 30 years and I’ve seen a huge you know, upswing and people’s ability to talk about it, you know, actively. I mean, just look at the TV now. 

0:00:57

I mean, all the TV commercials for psychotropic medications, things like that, um, you know, they, they really have opened up, um, and a lot of our young people, the ability to talk about mental health, you know, concerns actively go out and seek treatment. Um, and there’s so many other options now for medications for different types of therapies and for pretty much if you have an issue that you you need help with getting services that can meet your needs. I guess almost one in four of us deals with a mental illness. Nationally the statistic is about 23 % of folks report mental health condition so it’s probably actually higher than that but 23 % report one and Connecticut’s a little bit lower about 21 % but that’s a that’s a significant number. Yeah and it’s it’s I mean it’s not unusual if you’ve got friends and acquaintance or something and they’ll say well I’ve got an appointment with my therapist. It just happened last weekend. 

0:01:52

Yeah yeah yeah so and and that has become again much more acceptable it’s like okay you’re working through something yeah and like any other illness too, there are degrees of severity or seriousness here, too. You talked about psychotropic drugs, and we do have that marriage of pharmaceuticals and voice therapy, you know, talking to someone in counseling. So I guess it’s really as individual as the person. It is. 

0:02:17

It is. 

0:02:18

And I think, you know, if you see someone that seems to be struggling with a mental health concern, a lot of times people are worried about oh I don’t want to take medications and so on that doesn’t have to be the first choice right you know plenty of anxiety and depression and you know adjustment disorders like that you know can be addressed through talk therapy and even if there are medications that would help they don’t have to be taken lifelong they could be it all depends on what your needs are but either which way there are therapies out there that can help and not Impact your life as much as they used to so if you have a condition that does require medications The medications that are out there now so many of them have no side effects or very little side effects But you’re right. There’s a broad swath of issues that people need help with and it’s just about identifying kind of what it is that you might need help with and Figuring out where to go from there Well figuring out where to go from there for a friend or a family of someone that you think is struggling Just initiating that conversation, you know, you don’t want to go too far You don’t want to pry you don’t want to be judgy, but you want to be helpful So, how does that begin right and you know, and that’s the thing too and and people they don’t want to push people away they don’t want to feel like they’re Insulting them and so on but you know, generally speaking if you see something then, you know Have that courageous kind of conversation with the person, you know, take the time to tell them what you’re seeing, you know, so you’re not saying, you know, I think this is going on or that’s going on with you and I think you need help. You’re just saying, well, what I’m noticing is this. You’re not coming out of your room a lot. You seem to be really sad all the time or you seem to be really avoidant of people. 

0:04:09

You seem to be really anxious and I’m worried about you and this doesn’t come from a place of me judging you. This comes from a place of me caring about you and wanting to say, how can I help you? So from there, you wait to see what they come back with. I mean, even though we’ve got a normalization of conversation about about topics like this, it can still be difficult to draw somebody out and to try to be helpful beyond that initial approach. It can be, you know, and I think a lot of it is in the delivery is you sort of set the table with that conversation by saying, listen, I’m worried about you and I care about you and I want to be able to be helpful to you. what’s going on this is what i’m noticing and if you get the person to start to say i’m really struggling in this area or whatnot then there’s a variety of options for you. 

0:05:00

Now, all the way from if the person’s in an immediate crisis, you know, if somebody is experiencing symptoms such as suicidal ideation or, you know, they’re just really struggling with their mental health condition to the point where they can’t care for themselves, you know, you always have the 988 crisis line that you can contact. And I guess it fielded over 50 ,000 calls last year. Yep. in fiscal year 25, 55 ,000 calls. And just so people know, when you call that line, what generally happens is 89 % of that 55 ,000 reported that they felt that their crisis diminished just during the phone call. So that’s almost all of them where they’ve experienced some kind of almost immediate relief that, okay, I’m taking a step towards help. 

0:05:49

And, um, % of the phone calls are actually answered within five seconds, which beats the national standard of 15. So you have some folks that are really on the ball with this and they could help get you hooked up with services immediately to resolve a crisis or at least get the ball rolling. Even beyond that, you know, you can call the National Alliance for Mental Illness in Connecticut. You could call the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services. You can call McCall Behavioral Health Network. 

0:06:18

Our number is 860 -496 -2100 or even go to our website, which is mccallbhn . org and see what services we have available. And if somebody is struggling with something that doesn’t require, say, you know, immediate crisis intervention. It’s about setting a plan and following through with it and sort of You know supporting the person through it and you can do that in a variety of ways whether the person’s in the hospital out of the hospital You know one thing that loved one should know is that if someone is involved in Treatment on any level of care that there’s a there’s legal requirements, right? So there’s there’s releases of information that need to be filled out where the person receiving services actually gives permission for the treatment provider to engage with the family member or friend or loved one that’s involved and you know people that have loved ones that are involved in their care just, I mean, statistically and anecdotally just do so much better because they feel like they have so much more support outside of the treatment setting. But also the treatment provider gets a lot of important information around what’s in the person’s life beyond just, you know, what happens during their appointment. 

0:07:31

It sounds like just getting a start and letting that person who is in a varying degree of crisis, the matter that they’re not alone, that there are people that care, that there is a way up from this. Absolutely. I mean, all the way through it. from this? young man in his early 20s who had a pretty serious mental health crisis, ended up in the hospital. We worked with him, you know, his family reached out to us and to the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, and we worked with him from the hospital into one of our group home programs, then through one of our group home programs where he graduated, and he’s now living independently in a condo.

0:08:35

He’s working in, he’s got certification in the fitness area in the fitness realm and he’s working in that realm right now and this is a gentleman that was really struggling with some very serious symptoms and if you met him on the street you would never know. We love success stories like that. John Fecteau is our guest. 

0:08:54

He’s Director of Mental Health McCall Behavioral Health Network. 

0:08:57

Once a month, we catch up with him. 

0:08:59

Our time is wrapped up, but I look forward to having you back on the show. 

0:09:02

Thank you. And again, if you could, website, phone number, if folks want to reach out to the folks at McCall. Our website is McCall, M -C -C -A -L -L -B -H -N dot org. So that’s McCall Behavioral Health Network. BHN . 

0:09:17

org and our phone number is 860 -496 -2100 and they’ll be able to field you to any of our several different levels of care to help you figure out what needs you have and what we could help with. 

0:09:30

John, appreciate your time today. 

0:09:32

Thank you. 

0:09:32

Thanks. Enjoy the rest of your day. Thank you. And we’ll have you back on the show. With that, heading back to the newsroom now. Good morning, Jeff. 

0:00:07

97.3 WZBG 8:22 once a month, third Wednesday of the month. Pretty much, varies a little bit. We have a visit with the McCall Behavioral Health Network. And this morning, I’m happy to have as my guest, someone I work with on a monthly basis because she is the Director of Development and Marketing, Marissa Mittelstadt. Marissa, welcome back to the show. 

0:00:28

Thanks for having me. 

0:00:29

It’s been a few months since we had you on the show. Last time you were here, you were sharing a journey that your brother is going through and about being in the fight with substance. And we’re going to revisit a bit this morning. The first thing I want to ask is how’s your brother doing at this time? 

0:00:50

My brother is doing well. I’m really happy to say that. 

0:00:53

Glad to hear. 

0:00:54

Yes. 

0:00:54

Excellent. So he’s been in the fight, but he’s doing better. But what we expanded on a little bit, and it gets to the broader topic this morning for us, which is really about patience, kindness, compassion with those who are in that fight, despite the setbacks, despite the disappointments, and the importance, I guess, of hanging in there, right? 

0:01:15

Yeah, I mean, when we look back at my brother’s journey, and just for your listeners, a little background, he has been, you know, diagnosed with a mental health disorder, you know, that’s It’s severe, right? He goes into psychosis. He becomes manic. It’s challenging, right? And on top of that, there is substance use involved. dealing with this for over a decade now. 

0:01:43

And it’s been filled with ups and downs, probably more downs than ups until recently. And I’m just so glad that we did not turn away from him in his darkest moments, because it was so difficult. 

0:01:56

And that’s that’s the big part of it, too, is that that hanging there part. But that part’s not easy, right? You finally reached out and got therapy for your own role in this, right? 

0:02:07

Yeah, I really, I did. I had to. It got to a point where I just realized I was doing things that were maybe detrimental to myself, you know, reaching for that wine more often or, you know, eating more food. I gained a lot of weight and I just, I just couldn’t do it on my own anymore. I feel like I’m a hyper -independent person too. And thought, I can do this, I can help him, I can save him. 

0:02:30

And you know what? I couldn’t, and I had to realize that. 

0:02:33

Why do you think it took you as long as it did to reach out for therapy? 

0:02:38

Jeez, that’s a good question.

0:02:41

Well, I know we don’t have nearly enough time. 

0:02:42

You’re right, we definitely don’t. I think this feeling of, I can handle this, I can do it. I can get him to get help. 

0:02:49

Right. So we all need to work together, don’t we? That importance of relying on the strength, knowledge, training of others to help us through this. 

0:03:00

Right. 

0:03:00

Yeah. Right. Yeah. My therapist was able to recognize like some patterns that I had of, you know, just trying to fix that situation. And what she told me, I was like, you know, you can’t, what’s going on is not, it’s very common, is what she also told me. She’s like, your situation is not unique. 

0:03:18

And I thought it was. 

0:03:19

So that was a big eye -opening moment to me. 

0:03:22

Yeah. 

0:03:22

I think a lot of group therapy is really about that, is that sense of, you know, camaraderie, that you’re not in it alone. 

0:03:29

Absolutely. 

0:03:30

And I imagine at times being part of a family that’s in this fight, with your brother, even though you’re a family in this fight with your brother, you still felt alone. Absolutely. Like it’s some individual battle that you have to take on your way. Right. 

0:03:44

And I felt that, you know, because my mom and my dad were really, you know, they’re taking the brunt of all of the financial consequences, housing consequences. I you know, I felt I had to be a support for them as well and really just, you know, step up in the family. So that was also challenging. 

0:04:02

If you’re just joining us in the broadcast, Marissa Middlestaedt is Director of Development and Marketing for McCall Behavioral Health Network. And she’s relating a personal story here and about the importance of compassion and kindness and therapy and basically reaching out for help and being there for one another. When it comes to McCall, one of the things I’ve always been fascinated, blown away by, frankly, when I get folks like yourself or staff at McCall, how many have been through the fight against substance abuse, have been in the fight against mental illness, which can result to substance use. And that sense of, because they know what that’s like, it gives them a special perspective on helping those who are in it. Yeah, absolutely. I think that’s, when you join in or when you decide to opt into a therapy or a group, you realize you are really not alone. 

0:04:54

Like I said, your situation may not be unique. Everybody’s path is different and everybody’s path to healing will be different, but there’s a lot of commonality in the struggles that we face. And being able to talk to other people. Our staff at McCall, like you said, has a lot of experience, some personal and just also treating people. you know through therapy and groups and we have holistic therapy the yoga and reiki and all sorts of things to help um to help you along the way it’s just really wonderful and you just need a whole bunch of programs because the counterintuitive part is we just got done saying that that you know everybody’s got this commonality but everyone’s fight can be very individual and in terms of what works for them can be can be very individual as well. 

0:05:38

Right. And I really think, you know, McCall does a great job of working with each, you know, family with each person to find out, like, what what path did they want to take? Right. What is your personal path to recovery? And your family’s path? 

0:05:51

Because really addiction affects, and mental health disorders, they affect all of us, like everyone in the community cares. We’re about to hit the autumnal equinox, so we’re heading into fall. So we’ve got a little bit of a play on words and really falling back into things. 

0:06:05

And if people have therapy, maybe I should talk to somebody. Isn’t it time to actually go and do it now? Absolutely. Check it off your to -do list. Let’s get in, make that phone call. 

0:06:16

I know it’s scary, but I guarantee you, you will find some peace in that process. Absolutely. So our guest this morning, Marissa Mittelstadt, joining us from the McCall Behavioral Health Network. I wanted to get back to just one point. Again, I’m glad to hear that your brother is on a positive path. When we talk about therapy, is there a particular element, something that has helped him get to a better place or at a place that’s more positive toward a more successful place in his fight? 

0:06:47

I think really the decision was his and his alone that he needed to get help to You know, get get through these challenges and become, you know, a more productive member of society. So he found basically a recovery coach, who then connected our family we speak almost weekly with this recovery coach, and it’s helped. guide our family. We’ve talked about things in a mediated way, things that we’ve needed to talk about for a long time. It’s brought us closer together. It brought that connection out of that isolation that often happens with mental health disorders and substance use disorders. 

0:07:24

So I think that has made a huge difference and it’s also connected him to other resources. 

0:07:29

Like he didn’t have glasses. 

0:07:31

His glasses broke. He was able to get, you know, his glasses fixed. 

0:07:34

He was able to go to a doctor and You know with support of this recovery coach to address his diabetes that he’s been struggling with so really all of these connections that have been made through this help has put him in a much better place today. So don’t give up if you’re in that fight because that one step, that one person, that one coach or therapy might be the one that helps you get to that to that better place and kindness, compassion, therapy and Hanging in there. 

0:08:03

That’s right. That’s our broad scope this morning. Marissa, a pleasure having you on the show. Thanks for having me, Dale. Best to you and your family and continued success to your brother in his challenge. Thank you so much. 

0:00:00
8:22 9.3 WZBG as we get into our interview this morning we get a visit with the folks from the McCall Behavioral Health Network once a month and this is a very important month for the McCall. They’ve teamed up with the Litchfield County or yes Litchfield County Opiate Task Force which they do on a semi-regular basis because this is Overdose Awareness Month. Joining us this morning is Lauren Pristo. Good morning Lauren. Welcome back to the show.

0:00:28
Glad to have you on with us this morning. We’re also joined on the live line this morning. Cameron Breen joins us. Good morning Cameron. Good morning. Thank you for having me. We appreciate having you on the show and Cameron is going to share some words with us as we talk about Overdose Awareness Month. Let’s talk about the importance of this month, Lauren, and why we go down this path every August with a big event coming up at the end of this month.

0:00:52
Yeah, Overdose Awareness Day is an important time to reflect on the impact of the overdose crisis and the lives that we’ve lost and also act for policies and changes that would save further lives. And I also wanna take a moment to reflect on the stories that are being told about people who use drugs right now.

0:01:14
When power structures generate a narrative that paints them as dangerous and disposable, it’s crucial to remember that compassion is also our most powerful tool. And Overdose Awareness Day is really about rejecting that idea and standing up for folks.

0:01:31
When we talk about Overdose Awareness Day, this is going to be a resource and fair and vigil. Let’s talk about what happens on the 27th at Copark.

0:01:39
Yep, next Wednesday we have our Overdose Awareness Day vigil and from 5 to 8 we welcome anybody and everybody to come join us. There’s a resource fair to kick us off followed by the vigil portion where we remember the folks who we’ve lost to overdose and read their names. It’s really special and moving and important for everybody to attend.

0:02:00
It probably does it a disservice to dismiss victims of this and people who fight this battle as a statistic, but the statistics have been getting a little better, haven’t they, in the past couple of years?

0:02:15
Yes, but we have to be careful about that because while locally we’ve seen a decrease in overdose numbers, we still continue to see folks pass away. And frankly frankly as long as the illicit supply of drugs is as dangerous as it is, we’re going tocontinue to see that, especially as that supply changes..

0:02:36
You began talking earlier about stigmatization of people who are in this battle. Cameron, we’d like to bring you into the discussion and again we thank you for for joining us. You’ve been a staff member at McCall, you’re with another agency now. Can you tell us about about your experience, a little bit about about what you have battled on your own?

0:02:59
Sure, yeah I used to work as McCall Behavioral Health’s Harm Reduction Coordinator. I now work as a Street Outreach Case Manager with Liberation Programs. A little bit about myself is that I have been in recovery for the past eight years. July 1st is eight years for me but there was a point in time when I was an intravenous drug user. I had experienced overdoses multiple times, and luckily, you know, I’m a person who made it to the other side of that, but I’ve buried countless friends and loved ones due to overdose and so I can just say that I’m, you know, 100% here to voice support for bringing awareness to overdose and reducing the stigmatization of people who use drugs.

0:03:47
What can you tell us about the about the way you felt and the way people interacted and reacted to you those who knew that you were in this battle and the way they treated you and the way you felt about yourself?

0:04:00
Yeah, so honestly so honestly, to be completely honest with you, I felt entirely ostracized from the majority of the world, right? I looked out on the world around me and I did not necessarily feel that I was a part of and I did not know how to… I kind of wished that I could just be, quote-unquote normal person, whatever that means. What that did was further isolate me from all the things that make us human.

0:04:40
It isolated me from connection, it isolated me from opportunities, it isolated me from feeling as though I was a part of and feeling like I had something to show up for and to live for on a daily basis. When that gets really difficult for people, what happens in a lot of circumstances and unfortunately based on the systems we’ve created around people who use drugs, is that they lose all of that connection, and when they have nothing that they want to actively show up for on a daily basis, what happens is they continue to use drugs, and unfortunately in some circumstances, they continue to use drugs until they die.

0:05:22
And so minimizing that stigmatization and creating spaces for people to feel loved and safe and to have that connection is where we actually will see, you know, lasting change, whether that be in one individual’s life or, you know, societally.

0:05:43
Cameron, I’ve had the privilege of interviewing a lot of folks who have who have been in the battle place where you are and continue in recovery like you have and I’m always intrigued by what was the turning point for them. Eight years ago, what was the turning point for you?

0:06:01
I mean there’s a there’s a lot that I can say to that and I don’t want to drone on by any means. But there’s a little piece that I can touch on. There’s a lot that went into, you know, me entering recovery and there’s just a small piece that I’ll touch on with when I actually entered this recovery around this time, because I entered recovery in 2017, and there was a late night in August. I used drugs alone in my bathroom. I was ashamed about it. It was a relapse. I didn’t speak to anybody about it, and my mother had woken up kind of in a panic in the room down the hall, was wondering why the house was so quiet and the bathroom door was locked. And they came into the bathroom to find me completely overdosed once they had gotten in there. And luckily, emergency services responded and we, they were able to revive me. This was not the only overdose that I’ve had.

0:07:09
I’ve had multiple. What really was the catalyst for myself was a situation which allowed me… What I can say is that those situations happened again and again and again and I could not find a way out. It felt like I was crawling up, trying to extend a hand and I didn’t even know where to go. But the catalyst for myself was that I had to go away to spend some time in jail and it wasn’t necessarily that the jail piece that was the thing, because I think culturally we kind of look at that and we say, you know, if we just throw as many negative consequences as we can at people who use drugs, then they will stop using drugs.

0:08:00
But the reality is, the substance use disorder is defined by one of the criteria is that people continue to use drugs despite negative consequences and then, societally, we throw as many negative consequences at them as we can with the expectation that they’ll stop using substances.

0:08:19
And that’s not the reality. What was the reality for me in that situation was my first response and my first idea that came in my head when I realized that I was going to have to spend some time in jail was that at least I’ll have people to talk to in jail. And that was the true factor that made me say, you know, I’m so isolated, I’m so alone right now and I don’t know any way out of this.

0:08:43
I couldn’t picture, you know, living with drugs in my life anymore and I couldn’t picture living without them. And so, I, you know, decided to do everything I could to enter recovery, but a lot of people’s stories look different and, you know, a lot of people’s recoveries look different and that can be a lot of things. I am a person that sounds as if they hit rock bottom, etc., etc., but the reality, unfortunately, is that there are too many people that their first rock bottom is six feet under the ground and if we don’t create spaces for people to feel safe and for people to be safe while that happens then what we’re going to continue to see happen is we’re going to lose our loved ones, we’re going to lose our friends, we’re going to lose our community members.

0:09:37
Cameron you have articulated the reason why we’re here this morning very very well and we appreciate your story. I applaud you for taking that first necessary step and wish you continued luck in your recovery or hard work and we appreciate your story. I applaud you for taking that first necessary step and wish you continued luck in your recovery or hard work and success in your recovery. Thank you. Lauren, I’ll give you a chance really to just recap why we’re here. And of course this event which is co-hosted by the Litchfield County Opiate Task Force.

0:09:58
Yeah, overdose Awareness Day as Cameron story really shows is an opportunity to remember that every life and every life lost was a person with a name, a story, and people who loved them deeply. Their absence is felt in our communities, in our families, and in our hearts. And on Overdose Awareness Day, August 27th from 5 to 8 in Coe Park in Torrington, we’re going to be remembering those lives.

0:10:23
Lauren, thanks for being our guest. Cameron, thank you so much for joining us on the live line and sharing your story. Thank you so much for having me. All the best to you. And Lauren, thanks so much. I hope that folks get a really useful takeaway from this event so that we can approach this problem with greater takeaway from this event so that we can approach this problem with greater empathy and compassion and make greater strides. Thanks for being our guest.

0:00:00
8:22, 9.3-WZBG. We grab a Wednesday during the month and we talk health with the folks from the McCall Behavioral Health Network. We want to welcome back a guest we’ve had on in the past. She rejoins us. It’s Dr. Natalie Merge. Good morning, doctor. Good morning. Appreciate your time this morning. Thanks for joining us on’s Dr. Natalie March good morning doctor. Good morning. Appreciate your time this morning thanks for joining us on the show. Thank you for inviting us and thanks for the opportunity to talk about our whole health center in Waterbury.

0:00:34
We’ve had a commercial running about the whole health center and this is a great opportunity to flesh that out a little bit about what that means. I understand this is a fairly recent addition in Waterbury for McCall BHN.

0:00:50
Yes, that’s correct and it opened in November of 2024 where we’re promoting our primary care services there as well as the child and adolescent outpatient services for mental health.

0:01:05
So when we’re talking about whole health, can you explain what that means as a concept for us?

0:01:15
Sure, so you know when you talk about treating from a whole health perspective, you’re looking at treating the whole person, so not just a specific symptom or condition. If you think about it, you know, the body is a unit, so everything connects. So if you have chronic pain from a back injury, that could not only impact you physically, but also mentally.

0:01:38
So we want to look at the full picture. So if the person has other medical conditions that are present, that could worsen because they’re not able to function at their baseline, we have to look at that. You know, having such a chronic pain injury could cause your mood to be low, so we have to look at what you are you eating, are you sleeping well.

0:01:58
If those things are affected, then we have to make sure are you maintaining a healthy weight, because then that could also worsen the injury and then worsen your pain. So nutrition, maintaining a healthy lifestyle, those things would need to be addressed. So it’s a patient-centered approach that follows an integrated care model where we’re just looking at everything to make people feel more physically, mentally, and emotionally healthier. It seems a bit of a reverse on tradition.

0:02:30
You know most of us you go to a caregiver for a specific situation, a specific condition, a specific ailment and they look at that ailment and they treat it. This sounds like you’re not only looking, you know, at the ailment specifically what might be bothering the patient, but getting to the deeper cause of what may be, you know, cause and effect of what’s bringing it about in the first place.

0:02:56
Yes, that’s true and, you know, even though our doctors visits these days are very brief. They’re still trying to encompass making sure that people are looking at everything holistically. So, this is a new approach, but more people are interested in this kind of treatment. So, this is what people are starting to look for. They’re looking for healthier ways to live their lives and you know maintain a healthier lifestyle. So when you were talking about Whole Health, you listed a number of different approaches to you know assessing the health of the whole patient.

0:03:36
To flesh that out, what kind of services are provided then down at the Whole Health Center?

0:03:40
So we have primary care services, so you can get annual physicals, routine streams, you know, even if you have an acute illness or if you’re doing chronic disease management. We also provide mental health support. We have substance use treatment as well, which McCall is well known for. We also have the child and adolescent outpatient psychiatric services you know that can also include not just meeting with a psychiatric provider but individual group family therapy and we also have a pharmacy on site so that makes everything very convenient.

0:04:14
Do you think are people surprised by this very, very comprehensive approach? You know, say somebody comes in, like you said, for back pain. Are they surprised to find psychological services that might somehow integrate with their care plan? I think that might be a surprise for some people because they’re going in probably expecting a prescription but knowing that there are other supports that can be available to them because yes something like chronic pain that’s going to definitely affect your mood.

0:04:48
But we also have some other treatments, some holistic approaches that are utilized. I’m not sure if you’re familiar with acupuncture but that’s one of the things that’s provided there. It’s called AcuDetox because it can also be used for help with addiction treatment, for withdrawal symptoms and cravings, but it can help just reduce stress, give a sense of calm, inner peace and quietness.

0:05:26
You know, it helps you be more receptive to counseling. So, that’s one holistic treatment that’s offered. And another is Reiki. I don’t know if you’re familiar with Reiki, but it’s a Japanese practice, a healing technique where they use gentle hand movements to guide the flow of energy through the body to reduce stress and promote healing. So those things people might not expect but we do offer that.

0:05:56
I would think that also when a patient comes to you there there needs to be a period of assessment figure out which service is the one that’s going to

0:06:04
do the best for them right? Yes Yes, that’s correct. So, I mean, when they, they can call and ask for what they need. So, even if they didn’t know that we offer primary care, they’re calling for behavioral health, they might come in for a behavioral health appointment. When they get there, you know, part of the assessment is going to be looking at their physical health.

0:06:30
So, that’s an opportunity for them to get embedded in those kinds of services there. Dr. Natalie March is our guest this morning. She’s with the McCall Behavioral Health Network. We’re talking about the Whole Health Center in Waterbury, a comprehensive approach to the whole health of a given person. Dr. March, for folks who want to find out about this, what’s the best way for them to get started?

0:06:52
So they can call. They can call the Whole Health Center at mccallbhn.org, and there’s a link for the whole health center there. You know, we’re also doing outreach programs. We are reaching out to our referral bases, hospitals. We’re sending them emails and brochures.

0:07:23
We’re doing social media ads. We have a fall campaign that we’re working on for vaccinations, you know, especially as kids get ready to go back to school. You know, we’ll be able to offer free health education sessions also in the future. Wow. So, you know, there’s a lot of attempts to reach out to the community so they can know more about the Whole Health Center.

0:07:45
Wow, all right, sounds like some great outreach. Dr. March, we sure appreciate your time and of course we’ve got some reference material here we can share if folks only got part of the interview and want to find out more about the Whole Health Center and Waterbury, but thank you for letting us know about services available and have yourself a great day and thanks for being part of our show. Thank you so much for having me. Enjoy the day. Thank you,

0:08:10
Dr. March. All right, take care. Once a month we check in with the folks from the McCall Behavioral Health Network and this one all about the whole health approach, a relatively recent facility Health Network and this one all about the whole health approach, a relatively recent facility down in Waterbury.

0:00:00
97.3 WZBG 8:22, third Wednesday of the month, monthly visit with McCall Behavioral Health Network. Our timing for this month of course being the month of June. This is Pride Month, it’s a month we celebrate inclusion and equity and the strength of community. Clinical Program Director for the McCall Behavioral Health Network,

0:00:32
Mary Beth Tedesco, is our guest this morning. Good morning. Welcome to the show.

0:00:36
Thank you, Dale.

0:00:37
Good morning. Thanks for joining us. Now, you’ve been with McCall for a number of years, I guess, right?

0:00:39
I have been. I started out as just an intern in 2010 and I was fortunate to be hired by them and have moved my way up to one of the clinical program directors.

0:00:50
When we talk about this month, you know, we talk about the month of June with it being Pride Month and and now we have Juneteenth as a national holiday. There seems to be kind of a mainstream acceptance of these celebrations of members of the community that have been marginalized or set aside in the past. But there’s some warning clouds here right now in the current national conversation, isn’t there?

0:01:21
There absolutely is. We made such great strides with helping people feel included. You know, this is all about inclusion and diversity. We’ve taken a few steps back. That national conversation is saying, nope, we want to go back to the way things were a long time ago. And it’s scary. It’s scary for folks who are in that marginalized community.

0:01:42
Do you think that there is going to be this big rollback though or do you think that in the social mindset, not so much the political mindset, but in the social mindset, we have in fact moved beyond that?

0:01:55
I think that we have for sure. I mean, when I think about, you know, I came out in 1990-ish.

0:02:03
What was that like? That’s 35 years ago you think. Well that’s not that long ago, but that’s 35 years ago.

0:02:09
It feels like a long time ago. And it was very different back then. But in coming out I only came out to, initially to my mother feeling she’s the safest. And when I blurted that out to her, it was a very scary time for me, but I felt that she just needed to know this.

0:02:23
And her initial response right off the bat was she just burst into tears. I took it as oh my gosh, she hates me, she doesn’t love me, she thinks I’m something’s wrong with me. But what she said is no, no, I love you. I will always love you. I’m afraid for you. That’s a hard road ahead. I didn’t really grasp what that meant and in 35 years. I have grasped what she meant by that.

0:02:51
You know society it thrives on, you know when any every individual has the opportunity to like prosper, but society You know is more looking at what they value things on the outside instead of the inside Which is what truly matters they push the others to the fringes of society. And it’s frightening when you are falling in these categories of the marginalized population, LGBT, people of color.

0:03:13
My favorite quote, and one that I use because it applies in so many conversations, including this one, is from the late Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., who said, “when we judge someone by not the color of their skin but the content of their character.”

0:03:29
And that content ofcharacter speaks to that from within never mind the without you know and I think that that applies in so many situations now it is worth revisiting because McCall is so much about helping folks who are dealing with mental health challenges, ergo the things that result in folks becoming dependent on substances to cope. As someone who’s part of that community, as someone who talks with folks who are in that community, let’s talk about that toll on mental health, being part of this group, especially in the current pressures of today.

0:04:01
So when society and people prioritize the external appearances rather than the outward appearances, the external attributes, what happens is it perpetuates harmful stereotypes, reinforces feelings of inadequacy, chips away at self-esteem. One questions their worth, their sense of belonging in a society that values conformity. It’s a lot of external pressure to conform, and it takes a toll.

0:04:30
Anxiety, depression, and McCall Behavioral Health, what I love about our organization is we are so diverse. Our clinicians are so talented. We are treating the whole person. It’s not just addiction anymore. It’s really the mental health, interpersonal relationships, all of that comes together.

0:04:49
And I think that that’s what that’s what folks need to feel this sense of compassion and that they do belong. I’ve been fortunate enough to do these interviews with McCall now for five or six years.

0:05:00
A different guest every month, some repeat guests, but you’re absolutely right. The the spectrum of folks from all walks of life, from all experiences, from all communities have been at the microphone like you are right now. And it really is a great cross-section of who we really are and who is in our community. And having that understanding and that compassion really is job one. I want to give you a chance to mention there is a peer-to-peer support group that is kicking off later this month for the LGBTQ plus community.

0:05:32
Let’s just mention that. All right so on June 28th at 5 p.m. that’s a Saturday we’re gonna do this peer-to-peer LGBTQIA plus group where we’re gonna have some pizza we’re gonna maybe have peer-to-peer LGBTQIA plus group where we’re gonna have some pizza, we’re gonna maybe have some Qigong sound healing, and just let the people in that population come, meet each other, and then we’re gonna take a step back.

0:05:55
This is not gonna be run by McCall. We’re gonna take a step back and let those folks, it’s all about them having a place where they can feel safe, heard, and to sense their own community there.

0:06:06
This is going to be right at the campus at 58 High Street. Correct. Yeah. If you’ve never been down there, by the way, it’s a beautiful campus. I really like it. Our guest this morning is Clinical Program Director Mary Beth Tedesco with the McCall Behavioral Health Network.

0:06:19
And Mary Beth, we’re down to about two minutes left on the show. I want to give you a chance just to articulate the importance of this month as a month of inclusion and indeed for folks who are part of communities that have been marginalized and maybe feel like they’re being marginalized to a greater degree again. A message to them and to the broader community about hey can we all just get along?

0:06:42
Can we all just see that we’re all humans? Yeah. And it really doesn’t matter what’s on the outside. It really does matter what’s on the inside. And he, you know, you use the quote, I’m going to use my own quote, Harper Lee, one of my favorite authors, you never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view, until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it. And I think if we look at individuals as a whole and walk that, we can have a whole different world.

0:07:14
So take a little time and understand that person and always go in with compassion at the forefront, I think.

0:07:20
Compassion at the forefront.

0:07:21
Mary Beth, a pleasure having you on the show. Again, the Peer-to-peer support group is going to kick off on the 28th, 5 to 6 30 at McCall’s campus at 58 High Street. Mary Beth Tedesco has been our guest. Have a wonderful month and thanks for joining us. Happy Freedom Day. Happy Freedom Day, indeed. I’ll head and thanks for joining us. Happy Freedom Day. Happy Freedom Day, indeed. I’ll head back to the newsroom coming up in just half a minute on 97.3 WZBG.

0:00:00
♪♪

0:00:10
8:22, 97.3 WZBG. Speaking this time with folks from the McCall Behavioral Health Network. We get a once a month visit, and this time, I want to welcome back a guest we have had in the past, but it’s been a little while. Alicia Peterson is a family recovery coach.

0:00:27
Lauren Pristo, the director of community engagement. Good morning to you both.

0:00:31
Good morning.

0:00:32
Thanks for joining us this morning. Talking about pathways to recovery. And you know, I’ve been privileged to do these interviews with you folks from McCall for a long time. One of the main takeaways that I’ve gotten from this is that nobody follows the same path and it’s really it’s a custom kind of a thing and what looks like recovery for one person is not recovery for another. Is that safe enough to say Alicia?

0:00:57
Yes it is. At McCall’s we promote many different pathways to recovery and different tools, from harm reduction to inpatient facilities. We allow our clients the autonomy and trying the pathway that they feel the most comfortable with.

0:01:19
We celebrate every milestone, even if it seems like it’s not a big deal, it’s a part in getting healthier.

0:01:25
And sometimes heading down that pathway, you gotta double back and try a different path. Isn’t that safe, Lauren?

0:01:30
Yeah, there’s a lot of different tools that you might need to try before you find the one that’s right for you. And that’s okay. It’s really about just taking those small steps that make you feel a little bit better, a little bit safer, a little bit healthier for that day.

0:01:46
Another common point that I found here in speaking with folks from McCall too, and you guys do such great work with substance use disorder, but this is intertwined with trauma, health and wellness, mental health as well. It’s one basket, isn’t it?

0:02:02
Yes, it is. I know that for me, I am an alumni of McCall Behavioral Health and when I started on this journey, I was a mess with mental health and substance use disorder and didn’t know where to begin. And that’s when I began the MAP program, Medication Assisted Treatment. And, you know, like you said, I had to double back a couple times. And that’s when I began the MAT program, medication-assisted treatment. And you know, like you said, I had to double back a couple times. I’ve had a lot of grief in my life.

0:02:31
I lost my sister. Last week I lost my brother to suicide. And you know, there’s always going to be new things to try that help keep me on the path that I want to keep going on.

0:02:44
And it’s important to look at those milestones, no matter how small, those little bits of recovery. And you got to celebrate those, don’t you?

0:02:51
Celebrating every step along the way.

0:02:54
I want to mention something, an event going on too, and we’ll recap at the end of the program as well. A big part of getting the information out and promoting good health. Let’s talk about Trails to Wellness for a minute which is going to be coming up on the 29th up on the Winstead Green Learn.

0:03:08
Yeah, Trails to Wellness is an awesome event that the Litchfield County Opiate Task Force has been putting on I think now for three years. And so in our third year we’re excited this time we’re going to be in Winstead. It’s May 29th, 4 to 7. And it’s a really neat opportunity to come try a bunch of different tools to help you in your wellness journey. So we’re talking things like yoga, Qigong, nutrition, all sorts of different options. And some of them may feel a little bit out there for you, but there’s a lot of neat things to test out and it’s an opportunity to try it without a big commitment.

0:03:48
And also, all of these tools or these activities too, these are take charge things that you can do as an individual in promoting your own better all good health, good mental health and good spiritual health all at the same time.

0:04:01
Right, and even last year there was a couple individuals who got to try aromatherapy. Alicia do you want to tell that story? Sure. We had a couple of volunteers from one of our inpatient programs. They were gentlemen who were not accustomed to some of the things that we had available and they decided when they saw that I had no one to run the aromatherapy table, and they took charge and they ran it.

0:04:29
And they actually, they did an amazing job. People loved interacting with them and they are currently using aromatherapy in their daily practice.

0:04:39
No kidding. Yeah. Sometimes it’s, you know, you gotta put yourself out there and try something that doesn’t seem like it’s, you know, you got to put yourself out there and try something that doesn’t seem like it’s, you know, going to be a fit for you.

0:04:47
And it’s like, wait a minute, this actually does work. This does me some good.

0:04:51
And that’s why we love Trails to Wellness is we let everyone do the activities hands-on. So you’re actually getting to bring home aromatherapy oils that you create. You get to make your own little plant and watch it grow. There’s all kinds of hands-on activities for people of all ages.

0:05:11
I love the embrace we’ve got here between medicinal things. You talked about the MAT program and how it helped you. Yes. And we have gone full spectrum over to aromatherapy, which you wouldn’t think that the two of them would belong in the same conversation, but this really is a big toolbox we’re working with, isn’t it? Yeah, it’s a very holistic approach to recovery and wellness.

0:05:33
That’s a big priority for us. If you’re just joining us this morning, Alicia Peterson is family recovery coach, Lauren Pristow is director of community engagement McCall Behavioral Health Network, we’re talking about what recovery looks like and celebrating progress along the way, the different tools that go into it and the Trails to Wellness event. Is there a way to sum up really recovery in your experience as well as a family recovery coach in your approach to a family aspect to helping someone get to a better place?

0:06:09
The biggest thing that I think people need to remember is that autonomy. Your child is going to, their recovery is gonna look different from the things you read in books or you see on television. It is completely individual.

0:06:27
And all you can do, you can’t change someone else’s behavior, but you can be there to help support them.

0:06:34
Patience and open mind and a big heart, huh?

0:06:36
Absolutely, yeah.

0:06:38
Lauren, if you could recap again, trails to wellness. This is for not just folks who maybe can identify with the situations going on at McCall, but for the public in general, right? Yeah, this is a great public family-friendly event where we can try a lot of different wellness activities.

0:06:52
So that’s happening, Trails to Wellness. It’s happening May 29th, 4 to 7 p.m. on the Winstead Green. And folks don’t need to, they don’t need to sign up in advance. This is an open thing. Just walk on in and explore. Completely free and open to the public. Yep. And for more information, folks can also check out our social media for updates and additional ideas on wellness activities.

0:07:18
McCallBHN.org. I thank you both for joining us on the program. I wish you good weather first and good turnout and lots of open minds coming to Trails to Wellness. Thank you both for your time today. Thank you. Alicia Peterson, Family Recovery Coach, Lauren Pristo, Director of Community Engagement, the McCall Behavioral Health Network.

0:07:38
We get a visit once a month here on Litchfield County’s Community Radio Station 97.3 WZBG. We get a visit once a month here on Litchfield County’s Community Radio Station 97.3 WZBG. Good morning, Jeff.

0:00:00
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0:00:07
8:22 97.3 WZBG. Our monthly visit focusing on a specific topic with the folks from the McCall Behavioral Health Network. What a welcome to the broadcast this morning, Darian Grells, who’s been with us before, and she’s in a capacity this morning as a prevention program supervisor with McCall talking about their commitment to wellness and a tobacco-free campus.

0:00:29
Let’s start with that Darian. What does that mean for McCall? Yeah good morning Dale I’m really excited to be here today.

0:00:37
So tobacco-free agency means that all staff clients and visitors who kind of visit our premises are not permitted to use tobacco but this also means that we’re encouraging our clients to also kind of engage in whole person recovery and kind of really be in a space where their health is being supported the environment is you know is just all about supporting their physical, mental, and emotional health.

0:01:05
So with a tobacco-free campus, this comes within the line that really all substances that can cause a dependency, and given the mission of what McCall is about anyway, this just makes good common sense toward your end game here.

0:01:21
Yes, 100%, all about like investing in a person and supporting their whole person recovery. But we about like investing in a person and supporting their whole person recovery. But we also know that when a person is quitting all substances at once, their terms and like end goal for their recovery outcome, it increases. So they have better successes for long-term recovery if they quit all substances at once.

0:01:45
When we talk about tobacco, you know, I’ve been doing interviews for years with you folks from McCall, and we’ve hit some pretty heavy topics. Fentanyl, heroin, alcohol, personal trauma.

0:02:02
Tobacco seems like a minor player in all this, but it’s really part and parcel, isn’t it?

0:02:04
Yeah, it definitely plays a huge impact. I would say, especially for our youth and adolescents in the community, we run different groups at various schools within Litchfield County in general. And we see that on both ends of the spectrum.

0:02:24
The big tobacco companies, how they’re targeting youth specifically within their marketing, but then from the youth perspective of like how they’re truly being impacted by this and like the degree of misinformation that truly exists around vaping and part of what we do in prevention specifically is just providing that education and awareness and kind of empowering the kids to make healthy choices and decisions for themselves.

0:02:42
When we talk about vaping, there’s long been that myth out there that it is not harmful, that this is somehow a safe alternative to tobacco cigarettes and the like, but that’s not the case is it?

0:02:58
It’s not the case for people who weren’t smokers initially. I think that vaping was kind of created as a harm reduction device specifically for adult smokers initially. I think that vaping was kind of created as a harm reduction device, specifically for adult smokers. But unfortunately, we’ve seen kind of a change in the trajectory. And we’re seeing a lot of youth becoming

0:03:15
dependent on nicotine. And we know that their brains are still fully, they’re not fully developed until age 25. So specifically with nicotine, it impacts the parts of the brain that are responsible like for mood control, learning, attention span, regulation, and all sorts of different things like that.

0:03:25
So really educating the kids and giving them those snippets of information that allows them to think deeper and and really you know think about their choices and if this is setting them up for long-term success in the future. And a lot of the times it’s successful just providing those points of education. Like the word vapor was very intentionally selected.

0:03:52
There’s nothing about water that is in that product. If anything, it’s more compared to like an aerosol can, hairspray, air freshener. There’s nothing that’s really clean about ingesting, you know, various chemicals that are composed to create different flavors and have different effects on people. So it’s definitely concerning.

0:04:15
Vaping is not new. And I remember our local school district right down the road here, you know, having gatherings of students and parents and trying to get out the truth about vaping. It sounds like we still got some work to do here. Yes, I think

0:04:28
there’s always going to be continuous work, but we love to educate and provide awareness to people. Here at McCall, we offer, you know, family recovery support. We offer, you know, youth and adolescent support. So there’s lots of different kind of places along the continuum of support and health that we can help provide people. Even if it’s just with education and truly wanting to break down like what what is a vape, we can do we can do that 100%.

0:04:55
And when it comes to teens, they talk amongst themselves. You’ve got a case in point about a teen and what a strong factor, strong peer support is in this fight.

0:05:06
Yeah, it was actually really inspiring and we had a teen in one of our support groups that kind of made the choice to quit all of their substances at once, which you know it goes back to that initial topic that we talked about, whole person recovery, and they were met with ample support and like from their peers and it was just it’s awesome to see that because a lot of parents may think that, you know this is a super concerning thing.

0:05:29
Everybody is vaping. If my kid is vaping, you know their friends are just going to encourage it and continue it. But it’s actually really amazing to see the teens hold each other accountable and really just like they do different things.

0:05:42
Like sometimes they’ll pay one of my students like would pay a dollar each time they were tempted to like hit a vape, but that held them accountable. And like that’s, it’s just like, it’s different what works for each person. And so it’s, it’s really heartwarming to see them just come together and support one another.

0:05:58
And like you said, too, we were talking a little bit before the interview and there’s a quote that’s worth remembering that connection is the opposite of addiction and that we need those connections because they help reinforce our well-being which can help us get past the substance addiction because you don’t need it so much anymore when you’ve got the support of those around you.

0:06:18
100% it’s also about like connecting with people that are experiencing similar challenges as you and just hearing like how they give advice to each other and how they support each other with things that they’ve experienced It’s it’s really really amazing to see a lot of kids are off school.

0:06:35
So they may not be in school and maybe hearing this broadcast or parents may be hearing it as well a message to families when we talk about tobacco when when we talk about vaping. Just a final statement or a summation in giving folks the tools to get past this stuff.

0:06:51
Yeah, I would say for parents, not every kid is vaping, but definitely talk to your kids like early and often about your expectations and the harms that substance use can have on a developing brain. It’s also a reminder that a lot of kids are making good choices and they support each other, you know, when they are in the process of making a change. But then reach out to us at McCall if you need any support. If you’re trying to quit nicotine or tobacco or you’re concerned about a teen or a peer or a friend, visit our website, give us a call.

0:07:22
We’ll be more than happy to figure out how we can support you. Darian, great having you on the show.

0:07:28
Appreciate your time and best to everyone at McCall Behavioral Health. Thank you so much, Dale. Have a great day. Darian Groves is a Prevention Program Supervisor with the McCall Behavioral Health Network and again they’ve got Supervisor with the McCall Behavioral Health Network and again they’ve got lots of great information to help you along in these matters.