BOURNE and MARSHFIELD, MA: The Cook Family Charitable Fund (https://donatecookfamily.org/), a nonprofit organization founded in 2006 with a mission of raising funds for families dealing with cancer and substance use, as well as individuals with intellectual disabilities, is pitching in to support the efforts of the Bourne Substance Free Coalition to help stem the rise of opioid use and addiction.

Trudy Avery, Executive Director of The Cook Family Charitable Fund, said that their organization is helping to fund a program that will spread the word about the dangers of addiction. The Cook Family Charitable Fund is one of the partners working with mental health counselor and chair of the Bourne Substance Free Coalition Beth Griffin, made possible in part through funds administered by the National Institute of Health (NIH) Healing Community Study.

The Coalition consists of volunteers across all walks of life – police, fire, teachers, nurses, parents: all working educate the communities.

This effort involves a mobile van traveling throughout the towns of Sandwich and Bourne several days a week dispensing packets for people who may be suffering from addiction. Initially, the Coalition prepared 100 such bags with the help of students from the Upper Cape Cod Regional Technical School. These nylon bags included masks, toothbrushes, toothpaste, NARCAN, deodorant, and many other essentials. And the packets contain educational information on addiction and a list of available area resources.

The Cook Family Charitable Fund is helping with the cost of producing the information packets and also with providing information on addiction and recovery to be part of the packets. In addition to dispensing the information, the van will be staffed by professionals who can assist should they encounter someone in need of help.

The NIH funding was aimed at four states, including Massachusetts; and both Bourne and Sandwich were identified as communities that have been hardest hit by the epidemic.

According to Beth Griffin, the bags will be delivered throughout the towns via mobile van several days a week. “Our goal is to get this information into as many hands as possible,” she said. Also, she said, there will be live resources on this traveling van including recovery coaches. “We want this to be a complete resource to the communities,” she said.

Trudy Avery said, “We are very pleased to support such a needed effort in hard-hit communities. We have known and worked with Beth for a number of years, and we are proud to support such a worthwhile effort.”

Peter A. Cook, founder of The Cook Family Charitable Fund, said, “We are grateful to the Bourne Substance Free Coalition for their efforts in helping to curb substance abuse. We believe that education and advocacy is critical in this fight, and we are pleased to work with organizations that are committed to this cause.”