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September 2025 Newsletter
- Mar 13
- 8 min read
Compass Yoga Starts Oct. 4 |
Date: Saturdays Time: 8:30–9:30 a.m. Location: SAFE Office Instructor: Brittany Capozzi |
This therapeutic yoga series focuses on sensation awareness, emotional presence, and nervous system regulation. Using trauma-responsive teaching methods, Brittany creates a safe space where invitational language and personal choice help you reconnect with your authentic self and build self-agency in your healing journey.
Here's what to expect:
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Got Old Meds? Ditch Them Safely on National Take Back Day
Date: Saturday, Oct. 25 Time: 10 a.m. to noon Locations: Franklin, SAFE Office Medway Town Hall Norfolk Police Department Wrentham Fire Department (Open House) Millis Fire Department |
Most of us have a drawer or cabinet somewhere with old medications we're not sure what to do with. But keeping unused or expired prescriptions around isn't just clutter–it can be dangerous. Kids, pets, or other family members could accidentally get into them, and flushing old meds down the toilet might seem like an easy solution, but it can contaminate our water supply and harm fish and other wildlife. Instead, safely dispose of medications at SAFE’s drive-thru disposal stations, part of the DEA’s National Take Back Day. It's completely free, totally anonymous, and you don't even have to get out of your car! What can you bring? Any medication you want to get rid of—over-the-counter pills, prescription medications (yes, including opioids), and even medical devices like vapes and cartridges. No questions asked, no judgment, just safe disposal. We CANNOT accept sharps/syringes. |
Teen Skills Classroom Continueswith Topics such as Plumbing & Finances
Date: Wednesdays
Time: 3–4 p.m.
Location: SAFE Office
(unless otherwise noted)
The Teen Life Skills Classroom runs weekly and hosts basic life skills many of our amazing teens leave the home without knowing. As adults, it is our role to support the learning and encouragement of these skills, and SAFE is proud to offer a variety of classes taught in collaboration with local business owners.
Upcoming topics:
Legal Awareness – What changes when you turn 18
Healthcare Advocacy – Medical needs after leaving home
Home Maintenance – Plumbing, heating, electric basics
Communication – Effective telephone skills
Emergency Skills – Stop The Bleed & fire safety
Financial Literacy – Banking, saving, and credit
Life Management – Laundry, paperwork, mail & bills
Digital Safety – Internet safety & resume building
Franklin XC Hosts Diaper Drive
Date: Tuesday, Sept. 30
Time: 3–5:30 p.m.
Location: Dacey Field (Franklin)
SAFE is honored that Franklin High Cross Country chose to run a diaper drive for our Community Diaper Bank. Come cheer on the Panthers and help local families in need! Accepted donations include diapers (we can repackage opened packs), baby wipes, and formula (min. 6-month shelf life).
The Bank runs 100% on community donations and provided over 13,000 diapers in the last fiscal year—we couldn’t do it without you!
Unable to attend the meet? Donations can be made at the SAFE office Monday–Friday between 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. or purchased through our Amazon wish list—make sure to tell us your donation is for the XC drive!
Did you Know?
SAFE has been awarded Opioid Abatement Fund contractsfrom six towns to deliver substance use recovery support. |
Q: What are opioid abatement funds and why do they matter?
These are special funds designed to help communities fight the opioid crisis through 7 key strategies: supporting treatment, supporting recovery, connecting people to care, harm reduction (like Narcan distribution), helping the criminal justice-involved, family support, and prevention education. Q: Where did the opioid settlement funds come from? This pool of money comes from massive legal settlements totaling billions of dollars between thousands of state and local governments and the pharmaceutical companies, distributors, and pharmacies they sued for fueling the opioid epidemic through deceptive marketing and oversupply. Q: How are funds used? Funds in Massachusetts are accessed through grants given to municipalities and nonprofit organizations like SAFE Coalition. Together, grantees work to ensure funding achieves the greatest good, with limited administrative costs, and directly impacts as many families and individuals as possible. These funds are designated for treatment, recovery, and prevention efforts, essentially requiring companies that profited from the opioid crisis to pay for fixing it. Q: How many people have been impacted by the opioid crisis?
The scale of people impacted by the opioid crisis is staggering: In the last 20 years, approximately 800,000 Americans have died from opioid overdose. Overdose continues to claim 220 lives every day. At its height in 2018, over 600,000 people a year received treatment for opioid addiction. And the ripple effects of this level of hardship and loss place burdens on families, workplaces, the health care system, states, and communities. Q: What’s SAFE role in delivering services through opioid settlement funds? SAFE Coalition has been awarded abatement fund contracts from the towns of Franklin, Medway, Medfield, Millis, Norfolk, and Wrentham. With this money, SAFE delivers comprehensive care completely free of charge, including support groups, resource connection, peer programs, and practical resources like Narcan training, medication take-back events, trauma-informed yoga, and even diaper banks. We help thousands of residents with programs and services that address the whole person, not just addiction. |
Receive Free Narcan Training
Join an upcoming SAFE Narcan training to learn how to administer this life-saving medication. Free and open to all! No registration required.
Attendees will:
Upcoming Trainings
*On these days, following the training, a licensed clinical social worker will be available to answer questions and help with resource connection.
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Self Help Inc. Brings Mindfulness Class to SAFE
Dates: Mondays Oct. 20–Nov. 17
Time: 10:30–11:30 a.m.
Location: SAFE Office
(unless otherwise noted)
Ms. Gina and Ms. Jen from Self Help Inc. CFCE return to SAFE this fall to offer a five-week parent/child class focusing on mindfulness. The class will focus on breathing techniques, meditation, and yoga, and it will even include a literacy element. Best for ages 3.5–6 years old.
Contact Jen & Gina at gmcgarrigle@selfhelpinc.org or (508) 559-1666.
FAMILY RECOVERY WEEKLY SCHEDULE
Mondays
The Ripple Effect sibling support group, 7–8 p.m. on Zoom.
Meeting ID: 831 8134 8873
Big Book for Beginners, 7–8 p.m., at SAFE
Tuesdays
Families Anonymous, 6:30–8 p.m. at SAFE and online
Wednesdays
Postpartum Support Group, noon–1:30 p.m. at Bernon Branch YMCA.Registration required
Big Book Study, 6:30–8 p.m., at SAFE
2nd & 4th Thursdays
Grandparents Raising Grandchildren, 6:30–7:30 p.m. at Bernon Branch YMCA
Fridays
SAFE Cafe drop-in hours, 8:30 a.m.–noon at SAFE
Saturdays
Compass Yoga, 8:30–9:30 a.m. at SAFE Registration required
Parents Support Group Starts Oct. 20
Time: 4–5 p.m.
Date: Biweekly Mondays (starts Oct. 20)
Location: SAFE Office (Franklin)
Join our new support group for parents of children ages 1–5 to discuss the joys and challenges of parenting and life—the good, bad, and ugly—with the guidance of licensed clinical social workers.
New Webinar Series Premieres Oct. 30
SAFE's new Family Recovery monthly webinar series starts Thursday, Oct. 30! October’s topic: Addiction 101.
More details coming soon! Check our website for updates.
Volunteer Spotlight: Ceci Pineda
This month, we want to shine our spotlight on Ceci Pineda who first joined us to do her FHS senior project on SAFE. Ceci quickly impressed us with her strong work ethic and initiative, and she became a vital part of our team and asset to our Gala Auction planning. She has always been motivated by giving back, which is why she wanted to work with SAFE.
“It's truly inspiring to see all the work done behind the scenes to support everyone who relies on SAFE,” says Ceci. “From volunteers to the leadership team, and those who are in the office every day to those working from home, we each play an important role in shaping SAFE into the organization it is today.”
We’re thrilled Ceci has re-joined us as a volunteer this Fall. In just a few weeks, she has made a huge impact supporting our Development goals. We are so grateful to have you, Ceci!!
FROM THE COMMUNITY
Walking the 12 Steps–for Family Members & Loved Ones
Guest contributor: Robyn Heisey*
Sitting at my first Families Anonymous (FA) meeting, my head spun a 360 with the suggestion that I, along with everyone else there, was there to work the 12 steps. Was I in the right meeting? I mean, if anyone needed to work the 12 steps, it was my loved one, not me. He was the one battling addiction and mental illness. I, on the other hand, was the onlooker. The one suffering as a result of his suffering. In other words, the victim. But the victim of his actions and illness. Why would I need to work the steps?
I went to FA looking for comradery and kinship. To hear the stories of others as well as find ears to hear my story. Needing a community of folks who were likewise suffering and could listen in on my struggles. Pretty much a therapy circle.
It took me about two years of attending FA to realize that without letting in and embracing the 12 steps and all they had to offer, I was only receiving a smidgen of what the group had to offer. Meeting after meeting, I resisted the step work on display, working for so many others in the group. I wanted desperately to have what others had, merely by osmosis. If I just showed up and led the group once in a while, I was hoping that would be enough.
The very thought of braiding the 12 steps into my life led me to a dense wall of resistance. How was it possible that a program meant for those suffering from addiction, worked for those of us suffering alongside them? Those of us attempting day in and day out to save the lives of those we loved.
And while spending all my spare time on my loved one, trying to save him from a life of what I saw were terrible choices, along with the consequences that would teach him to live his life on his terms, I resisted the 12 steps. I resisted Powerlessness. I resisted God. I resisted Letting Go. I held tight to every ounce of control I believed I had, mistaking detaching with love with abandonment.
It took me hitting my own emotional rock bottom for me to secure a sponsor and formally begin working the 12 steps. And as I did, so many things in my life started to fall into place. Others saying that the 12 steps saved their lives no longer sounded like riddle I would never know the answer to. And I learned step-by-step that I, too, had a life worth saving, and worth living.
*Excerpt from in-progress manuscript by Heisey
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Our Contact Information
SAFE Coalition
31 Hayward St., Suite 2C
Franklin, MA 02038-0434
508-488-8105
