Vaping…Substance Use…Is it worth talking about?

I am 38 years old.  I have been sober from drugs and alcohol since Aug 2011.  I am coming up on 12 years sober.  However, it took a lot of work to get to where I am, and even though I had succeeded thus far, many people I know haven’t.  I come from an average childhood.  2 hardworking parents.  I excelled in academics and in sports.  Always above average student, and decent athlete.  I was the captain of my soccer and hockey team in high school.  My first experience with any drug was cigarettes which started my path to addiction.  I went to my first AA meeting at 17 no-where near convinced of being an alcoholic, nor that I could not stop on my own.  This continued into college and then I was placed into an in-patient rehab facility.  It wasn’t until I was faced with the fact that, yes, I had a choice, but until that choice was to listen to other people who had been where I was, before me, and did what they did to no longer be there; would my life be any different.  When I decided to put drugs and alcohol down at 27, and finally change ie., do something different, my life has been nothing short of miraculous.  I have been back to college.  I have both bachelors, and masters degrees.  I help those who are once like I was, and I give back wherever I can.  Letting others know that there is a solution, and help is available; at any time.  But this list can go on and on, as I know realize that everything in my life is a gift.  And it is all do to the action I take on a daily basis to stay sober.  

For those of you I have not met or worked with yet, I wanted to introduce myself. My name is Matt Hayes and I am the School Resource officer for Newtown High School. I have been a Police Officer with the town of Newtown for over 14 years. During my time with NPD I have worn several hats: I am a member of the Emergency Services Unit, I'm a child seat safety technician, commander of the NPD Honor Guard and coordinator of the Newtown Police Cadet program. Just this past year, I medically retired from being the professional chew toy for our region's police dogs. (A 90lb Belgian Malinois at full speed is not good for the shoulder)

I joined the CT Army National Guard while still in high school and became a Military Police soldier where I served 9 years, deploying to Iraq, assisting with Hurricane Katrina relief efforts in New Orleans as well as various other state and federal missions here and abroad.

Dr. Machado is a pediatrician at Center for Pediatric Medicine in Danbury CT since 1990. She graduated from Fairfield University BS Biology/pre-med and Medical College of Pennsylvania (formerly Women’s Medical College of PA) in 1987. She completed her pediatric residency at Brown University/Rhode Island Hospital/Women and Infant’s Hospital in Providence, RI in 1990. She has worked in the community caring for children from birth to 21 years old since. She has been the medical advisor to Newtown Schools since 2006, at the request of Dr. Thomas Draper. Her sons, Kevin and Christopher both graduated from Newtown Schools (over 5 years ago) 

Born and raised in the Bronx and moved to Connecticut in 1991 where my husband and I raised our two boys in Bethel for the past 30 years. I attended Parent Connection’s Hope & Support meetings, as well as, Al-anon, when my oldest son was in the throes of his addiction. He passed away June, 2019, just days after his 26th birthday, from a Fentanyl overdose. Today, I attend the Waterbury Parent Connection meetings to offer support for families who are struggling with their loved one’s addiction, and I also participate in bereavement support meetings for parents who have lost a child, for any reason.  I continue to attend parent support group meetings that I may be one who “walked the walk” and who is there to support those who are going through what I went through for so many years. Not there to dole out advice, but to be there in loving, knowing, support of those who have loved ones actively struggling with addiction. I do this in honor of my son Jonathan who lost his long hard battle with addiction, in the hope that we may help save someone’s life through support and awareness.

Grace Is a Senior at NHS, she is a high honors student who prides herself in her academic integrity, and her hardworking personality. Grace enjoys performing, both by singing and by acting. She has starred in many plays throughout her life, her most recent one being Into The Woods as Cinderella’s Stepmother. Grace is Teen mental health first- aid certified, and is hoping to enter college for theatre arts, with a possible double major in psychology or education. Her main goal in life is to help others, and to find true happiness in whatever path she chooses to follow. Grace is hoping to stay close to home for college as she really loves the Newtown community. 

Cory Griffin loves working in this field because she has a passion for helping people reach their full potential and live meaningful lives. She is dedicated to giving back to the community that helped him overcome countless obstacles. She is committed to helping patients reach a place where they can be happy and have a hopeful future. In fact, her own personal journey to recovery led her to pursue a career as a therapist. Cory has attended dialectical behavioral therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy training programs, as well as mindfulness and meditation training from Harvard University.