Network4Health will present a reading of the play A Wider Circle by Mary Ellen Hedrick, and a community discussion on the topic of The Opioid Crisis Effect on Families. Co-sponsored by South Central Public Health Network and Derry Community Access Media.

Immediately following the reading of A Wider Circle, facilitator Tim Barretto will lead a community discussion with the audience and panelists Dean Robbins, a clinician with DMC Primary Care; Chuck Hemeon, Director of Emergency Medical Services for the Derry Fire Department; and Natacha Davis, Outreach Coordinator for Revive Recovery Center. Community participants can sign up to attend the webinar and participate in the discussion. The program will also be broadcast live on DerryCAM who will host a website with links to resources for families and community members specific to the Greater Manchester, Derry and Salem region.

A playwright and civics teacher from New Hampshire, Mary-Ellen Hedrick’s previous work, Throw Away People, focused on the devastating consequences of heroin addiction for both individuals and the community. New Hampshire Theatre Project commissioned Ms. Hedrick, as an advocate for the recovery community, to address the topic of addiction as a family disease. A Wider Circle has toured to communities throughout New Hampshire, including Gorham, Concord, Manchester, Brentwood, Rochester and Portsmouth.

I want to express my appreciation… The play was impactful and insightful, and the discussion afterward engaging and useful. I support your effort to provide opportunities for folks to come together to talk about what needs to be talked about. The use of a theatre piece to create an atmosphere of understanding and empathy is terrific.

– Audience Member

Now in its fourth year, NHTP’s Elephant-in-the-Room Series® presents playreadings and community conversations about subjects that we as a society often have difficulty discussing.  Additional topics have included Suicide Risk in Adults, Eating Disorders, School Safety and Human Trafficking.