PHOTO BY KATHY CHANG/STAFF

Middlesex County Conference on Mental Health and Addiction Recovery set for Sept. 27

The 2018 Middlesex County Conference on Mental Health and Addiction Recovery will take place from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sept. 27 at the Middlesex County Fire Academy, 1001 Fire Academy Drive, Sayreville, in celebration of National Recovery Month, dedicated to ending stigma.

The free conference is open to mental health and addiction recovery professionals, agency directors, clinicians, peers, municipal alliances, government officials, advocates, students, and the mental health and addiction recovery community.

The keynote address will be “The Opioid Story: How the Medical Industrial Complex Fueled a Crisis,” delivered by Frank Greenagel.

Middlesex County Local Advisory Committee on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse (LACADA) Vice Chair Patti Maloney, who is a musician, will present a part of her musical memoir, “Sleeping Beauty Just Woke Up: A Journey of Long Term Recovery.”

Alexandra Lopez, faculty members at the Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University, will deliver “Breaking Down Walls: Facing the Stigma that Impacts the Behavioral Health Profession.”

The conference will close with a demonstration of a therapeutic drum circle, facilitated by Tommy Hayes of Drums From Heaven.

Continental breakfast, lunch and professional credits will be offered at this free conference. Registration is available at www.wellspringprevention.org/2018CountyConference. Space is limited.