Local Substance Abuse Training Academy Graduates First Class
posted: October 16, 2007 | category: substance abuse
tags: news
News release from Guilford Center:
Front row (left to right): Joe Fortin, Cassandra Durham, Vivian Armstrong, the Honorable Sue Burch, Alicia Kaplan, Katie Poulos, Lelia Moore, Michele Forrest, Vanessa Blackwell, Back row (left to right): Lieutenant Thomas Hanson, Jackie Lucas, Roslyn Rope, Ben Aalbers, Jim Young, Paul Nagy, and Charles Coffey. Not shown: Wheaton Casey.
On Friday, October 5, 2007, the Guilford Academy of Substance Abuse Recovery Advocates (GASARA) graduated its first class of fourteen community resource leaders. The Alumnae included a distinguished array of representatives from health and social service agencies, the judicial system, law enforcement, community stakeholders, and advocacy organizations.
The Commencement was held at the Guilford Center in Greensboro. Billie M. Pierce, Director of the Center, introduced Chairman Paul Gibson, from the Guilford County Board of Commissioners, who delivered opening remarks. County Manager, David McNeill also spoke to the graduating class. Special guests included Bob Iddings, Greensboro Area Health Education Center (AHEC), and John Biggers, NC Evidence Based Practice Center (NCEBPC).
Members of the graduating class were: Ben Aalbers, High Point Regional Health System; Vivian Armstrong, Department of Public Health; Vanessa Blackwell, Independent Contractor; the Honorable Sue Burch, NC District Court; Wheaton Casey, Guilford County Drug Court; Charles Coffey, Lee Street Merchants Association; Cassandra Durham, Sickle Cell Disease Association of the Piedmont; Michele Forrest, Homeless Advocate; Lieutenant Thomas Hanson, High Point Police Department; Alicia Kaplan, Department of Social Services; Jackie Lucas, The Salvation Army of Greensboro Center of Hope; Lelia Moore, RN, Moses Cone Health System; Katie Poulos, MSW, PLCSW, Triad Health Project; Rosalyn Rope, Guilford Child Health; and Jim Young, Greensboro Public Library.
The five-day Academy training was held during the week of October 16 at the Guilford Center. It was facilitated by Paul Nagy, LPC, LCAS, CCS from the Duke Addictions Program and funded through the North Carolina Evidence Bases Practices Center under a grant of the Duke Endowment.
GASARA is a component of the Guilford County Substance Abuse System of Excellence, a collaboration between the Guilford Center, the community, NCEBPC, Greensboro AHEC, and Duke University to develop an integrated, system-wide response to addressing substance use disorders based on best practices.
We had a great week of training. It was an honor to be chosen for GASARA and I learned a lot during the week of training. I saw old friends, met news ones and renewed my hope in what our community can do to help those struggling with the disease of addiction. I took dozens of pages of notes. But after the week of training, I had to spend the past week catching up on other things, so expect to see those notes converted to blog posts soon! You’ll be hearing more about GASARA.
Thank you, Guilford Center, Paul Nagy and Joe Fortin. And thanks to all my first-class first classmates. 
Comments
4 Responses to “Local Substance Abuse Training Academy Graduates First Class”
Leave a Reply
do you have substance abuse trainings
our academy graduates put together trainings and seminars, yes. this is one i did recently.
can you tell me more specifically what kind of training you’re looking for?
i am looking to get some local training on substance abuse for a future job. i want to help people get off drug and alcohol or be able so tell them how to get help.
There’s a new Academy class beginning soon, and this one will be focusing on adolescents and addiction. If you’re interested in that, you can contact Joe Fortin at Guilford Center, 336-641-3630.
GTCC has a substance abuse curriculum that includes substance abuse counselor and substance abuse case management. I always have trouble finding info on their web site, so I suggest that you call them if you’re interested and can’t find info on their site: 336-334-4822.
Also, the Guilford County Substance Abuse Coalition offers periodic informational events. Visit their web site for more.
I hope that helps.