“Let’s Fiesta” to take place at Boca Raton based Dance Flow on August 5

(West Palm Beach Fla.) –  Hanley Foundation and Boca Raton’s Dance Flow will salsa their way to raising funds and awareness for Hanley Foundation during the Boca Raton Chamber of Commerce’s Boca Festival Days. The special events, which take place during the month of August, partner non-profit and for-profit Chamber members to benefit the non-profit’s philanthropic efforts. “Let’s Fiesta” will take place at Dance Flow on Thursday, August 5 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. and 100 percent of ticket sales will benefit Hanley Foundation’s mission to prevent substance use disorders, provide treatment for those in need and advocate for supportive policies and programs.

“Let’s Fiesta” will also serve as Hanley Foundation’s kickoff event for the upcoming Hanley Foundation Brice Makris Memorial Picnic, taking place on November 14, 2021, at Boca West Country Club from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Hanley Foundation Board Member and Boca resident John Makris and his wife Michelle will chair the inaugural event that honors their son, Brice Makris, who passed away in March 2020 to a Fentanyl overdose.

“There are thousands of individuals suffering from substance use disorders right here in our community,” said Jan Cairnes, CEO for Hanley Foundation. “With the help of the Boca Chamber, Dance Flow and the Makris family, we are increasing awareness of substance use disorders in South Palm Beach County. “With the proceeds of ‘Let’s Fiesta’ and the ‘Hanley Foundation Brice Makris Memorial Picnic,’ we will be able to increase our prevention programming to stop substance use disorder before it begins, advocacy programs to bring awareness, and scholarship programs to provide resources for those who cannot afford the financial burden of recovery.”

“Let’s Fiesta” will include performances by Dance Flow’s award-winning professional dancers, instructors and students; raffles; a Master Class of salsa, bachata and rumba; and special surprises. Chamber member Tijuana Flats will sponsor the DIY taco bar, allowing guests to build their own tacos from an array of protein options and toppings, including chips, salsa and guacamole.  

“These have been difficult times and dance has been a wonderful, healthy outlet for many people,” said Aleksandr Skarlato, owner of Dance Flow. “At Dance Flow we are passionate about partnering with Hanley Foundation and supporting their mission to provide substance abuse prevention and education programs for children and parents in our community, and to provide scholarships for those needing substance abuse treatment. When I was growing up in Ukraine, many people struggled with alcohol abuse. Together with Hanley Foundation, we want to help people in our community.”

Admission for “Let’s Fiesta” is $25 per person in advance (includes food and drinks) or $30 at the door. Tickets can be purchased at hanleyfoundation.org/festival-days.

HANLEY FOUNDATION ANNOUNCES RECOVERY LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE (RLI) TRAINING SERIES

Beginning July 14, series to offer hope and resources for those affected by substance use disorders

(West Palm Beach, Fla.) Leadership at Hanley Foundation is announcing a seven-week series of trainings beginning July 14. Free and open to the general public, the Recovery Leadership Institute (RLI) Summer Advocacy Training Series has been created to advance efforts in producing equitable outcomes for all individuals impacted by substance use disorder. The workshops will be presented with in-person and online attendance options. In-person presentations will take place at the Palm Beach County HUB located at 2120 W. Atlantic Avenue in Delray Beach 

The RLI Summer Advocacy Training Series is designed to impact recovery and addiction specialists and leaders, families of people with addiction disorders, people in recovery and families who have had life-adjusting experiences related to addiction. According to Hanley Foundation leadership, the workshop series is intended to offer hope for individuals, families, and communities affected by alcoholism and drug addiction.

Hanley Foundation combats substance use disorders within our communities by raising awareness and providing prevention education programming in schools and communities throughout Florida. The nonprofit organization is dedicated to working alongside community partners to promote healthy lifestyles and positively influence attitudes, norms and values by empowering individuals and families. Through its Lifesaver Scholarship Program, the Foundation also helps supply treatment scholarships to individuals with demonstrated needs nationwide.

“The mission of the series is to educate and advocate for people with substance use disorder issues,” said Jan Cairnes, CEO of Hanley Foundation. “A key focus of the series is also to raise awareness of the ROSC model, or Recovery-Oriented Systems of Care. This method provides independent evaluation of each person with substance misuse disorders and provides personalized care. ROSC allows more people to get treatment that will work for the individual and ensures success and a more efficient use of tax dollars within public treatment facilities. The RLI series will even offer a digital advocate certification program for professionals and paraprofessionals who are interested in raising awareness of this new treatment model.”

The workshops will be presented virtually and in-person at 7 PM every Wednesday starting on July 14 through August 25. All presentation recordings will be made available September 1 in honor of the start of National Recovery Month. Participants are encouraged to join the livestream or in-person sessions as these sessions will be interactive, led by credentialed volunteer instructors.

To register for Hanley Foundation’s RLI Series, visit Hanleyfoundation.org/public-policy/recovery-leadership-institute/ or contact Hanley Foundation’s Chief Recovery Community Officer Clarice Redding Louis at Clarice@HanleyFoundation.org. Or, for more information about substance use disorder prevention programming, please visit hanleyfoundation.org.

RLI Workshop Series

• Recovery Oriented System of Care (ROSC) 101 – Wednesday, July 14, 2021 at 7:00 p.m.
  • Donald McDonald, a Licensed Clinical Addictions Specialist (LCAS) and Recovery Coach Professional (RCP), will speak about the ROSC model and educate participants on the core values and benefits of the method. McDonald is a person thriving in recovery from severe mental and substance use disorders since 2004. He has written and presented extensively on recovery advocacy, addressing stigma and reducing harm in recovery. He is the Chief Recovery Officer with All Sober, a startup public benefit corporation that is creating a comprehensive online recovery ecosystem to launch this fall.

• The Role of the Family in Recovery – Wednesday, July 21, 2021 at 7:00 p.m.
  • Staci Katz,John Makris and Cindy Singer will speak on the role of the family in recovery.

• Hanley Foundation board member and Boca Raton resident John Makris lost his youngest son, Brice, in March 2020 to a Fentanyl overdose. John and his wife Michelle are sharing the story of Brice to call attention to Brice’s goal to save 100 men and women from substance misuse.Makris is a Certified Public Accountant and certified as a Personal Financial Specialist by the America Institute of CPAs.  He is a graduate of Florida Atlantic University, holding a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics and a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting. 

• Staci Katz is a native of Brooklyn, New York and has served as a New York City police officer. The theater, the beach, and traveling are just a few of Katz’s passions. Her son, Dillon is an accomplished tattoo artist in Palm Beach County, Florida. She is passionately on mission to help others.

• Cindy Singer is a retired Middle School Principal from Long Island, New York. Her best times are spent with her daughters and granddaughters. Traveling the world, hosting parties for family and friends, and learning about different cultures, are just a few of Singer’s passions. She is driven by her calling to help others and has made it her personal mission.

• Substance Use Disorder (SUD) and Civil Commitment Issues – Wednesday, July 28, 2021 at 7:00 p.m.
  • Joe Considine’s presentation will cover substance use disorders and civil commitment issues. Considine is an attorney specializing in the Marchman Act, a way for families to obtain a court order requiring their loved one with a substance use disorder to go into treatment for help. Considine has practiced law in South Florida since 1983, handling over 1500 litigation cases in his career and appearing in courts throughout Florida. He works extensively with families whose loved ones have substance abuse and mental health problems and is the author of many articles and lectures throughout Florida on the Marchman Act and other substance abuse related issues.
    
    Considine has been a member of the Board of Directors of The Fern House in West Palm Beach, a residential rehabilitation facility for indigent men with substance use disorders, for 25 years. He also enjoys assisting and participating with the Max Planck Institute for Neuroscience in Jupiter as a member of the Brain Trust.

• *The Intersection of SUD and the Criminal Justice System – Wednesday, August 4, 2021 at 7:00 p.m. *This session will be held virtually only.

Katelind Halldorsson and Abigail Shockley will speak about the intersection of substance use disorders and the criminal justice system.

• Halldorsson is the Assistant Program Director at the Criminal Justice, Mental Health, and Substance Abuse Technical Assistance Center (CJMHSA TAC). At the CJMHSA TAC, she is responsible for facilitation of training and technical assistance, website management and maintaining regular communication with grantees and consultants for the DCF Criminal Justice Reinvestment Grant Program. Her responsibilities also include technical report writing for grant program reports written to inform the Florida Department of Children and Families and the Florida Legislature. She earned a Master of Arts in Criminology at the University of South Florida in 2016 and a Master of Science in Child and Adolescent Behavioral Health at the University of South Florida in 2021.

Halldorsson has assisted in facilitation of over 17 Sequential Intercept Mappings across the state, which promote system-wide changes in the behavioral health and criminal and juvenile justice systems. Her research interests lie in the crossover population of youth involved in both the behavioral health and justice systems. Through the work at the CJMHSA TAC, she has the opportunity to promote best practices in behavioral health and justice across Florida and engage in meaningful systemic meetings to advocate for diverting individuals with mental health and substance use problems from the justice system.

• Abigail Shockley is the Director of the Criminal Justice, Mental Health, and Substance Abuse Technical Assistance Center (CJMHSA TAC) where she oversees CJMHSA TAC activities, contract compliance, and coordinates and provides training and technical assistance related to implementation of reinvestment grant programs throughout the state. Prior to joining the TAC, Shockley served as consultant for behavioral health programs, assisting with strategic planning, grant writing, development of compliance and business plans, and assessing programs for implementation of best practices for individuals with substance use disorders and mental illness.

She previously served as a Senior Policy Analyst with the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services where her work focused on several of the Department’s substance use disorder (SUD) initiatives, including substance use disorder policy analysis and development and expansion and oversight of Medicaid coverage for SUD. During her time with NH DHHS, she also served as the Project Director for implementation of the State Opioid Response grant, including oversight of program development for delivering behavioral health services and expanding the use of Medication Assisted Treatment for individuals involved in NH’s criminal justice system.

• *Stigma Reduction – Wednesday, August 11, 2021 at 7:00 p.m. *This session will be held virtually only.
  • Robert Childs, MPH, will speak about reducing the stigma of substance use disorders. Childs is currently a JBS International Technical Expert Lead (TEL), focusing on providing technical assistance on rural overdose prevention projects across the United States. His work has been featured in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, NPR, Huffington Post, NBC News, ABC News and more. He has led campaigns that led to the passage of comprehensive 911 Good Samaritan and naloxone bills in 2013, 2015 and 2017 and passage of syringe decriminalization, biohazard collection, and syringe service program bills in 2013, 2015, 2016 and 2017. Childs also helped develop the largest syringe service program network and community and law enforcement-based naloxone distribution programs in the Southern United States.
• Co-Occuring Disorders – Wednesday, August 18, 2021 at 7:00 p.m.
  • Marsha Martino, a behavioral health specialist, will speak about co-occurring disorders in substance use disorders, such as bipolar disorder. Martino has been involved with NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) Palm Beach County since 2010.  She is a NAMI Provider Education instructor and a NAMI Family-to-Family state instructor. She served for four years on the NAMI Palm Beach County Board of Directors.  In 2015, Martino was selected to serve as the Executive Director of the Palm Beach County affiliate of NAMI, a national organization with affiliates throughout Florida and the country.

Martino’s prior work experience includes 25 years of developing and managing programs in Maine for individuals with neurological issues. In Florida, she managed programs for individuals living with developmental disabilities, cystic fibrosis and adult and juvenile justice issues. She has a passion for coordinating and developing resources for individuals who have multiple diagnoses and complex needs.

• Recovery Leadership Policy – Wednesday, August 25, 2021 at 7:00 p.m.
  • John Makris and Clarice Redding Louis will also speak on the Recovery Leadership Policy.  This training focuses on organizing tools and strategies for community advocates and includes a substance use disorder advocacy model for Palm Beach County.

• Clarice Redding Louis has dedicated her life to enriching the lives of residents in her local community. Familiar with the socioeconomic, educational, and political deficits plaguing minorities in Palm Beach County, she seeks to close this gap of disparity by helping to offer more access to opportunities for advancement. Redding Louis holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Intercultural Communication from Florida Atlantic University, as well as a Master of Educational Leadership from that same institution. She is currently enrolled as a doctoral student at Nova Southeastern University, pursuing an Educational Doctorate in Organizational Leadership.

Redding Louis is a mentor with Project18 with Children’s Home Society of Florida, as well as a foster parent to children in need. She has also served as the Executive District Secretary to State Representative Bobby Powell, Jr. of District 88; working to ensure better public policies for our community. She served as the Green Dot Program Coordinator for Victim Services of Palm Beach County, which seeks to empower everyday citizens to take a stand against acts of violence, such as intimate partner and domestic violence, sexual assault, bullying, elder abuse, child abuse and stalking.

• Hanley Foundation board member and Boca Raton resident John Makris lost his youngest son, Brice, in March 2020 to a Fentanyl overdose. John and his wife Michelle are sharing the story of Brice to call attention to Brice’s goal to save 100 men and women from substance misuse.Makris is a Certified Public Accountant and certified as a Personal Financial Specialist by the America Institute of CPAs.  He is a graduate of Florida Atlantic University, holding a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics and a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting.

Hanley Foundation envisions a world free of addiction, leading the way as the largest provider of educational programs that prevent underage drinking in the State of Florida. In addition to offering treatment scholarships to those in need and facilitating trainings to identify the signs of substance misuse, the Foundation works to reduce stigma and change policy through its advocacy efforts.