LINC TOWN HALL TO PREMIERE DOCUMENTARY JULY 29
An award-nominated documentary about the breakthrough formation of Wellington LINC will premiere at 7 p.m. Monday, July 29 at the Patricia Lindley Center of Performing Arts at McCormick Middle School.
“The Wellington Experiment” was produced in 2019 by filmmaker Patrick Shaver, a former Atlanta police officer. It depicts interviews with the key leaders who were instrumental in the formation and success of the Local Initiative Networking Compassion effort, designed to combat the growing opioid crisis with a unique police-assisted program that provided links to treatment and recovery services.
Due to the pandemic, the film was never formally released although it did receive a nomination for Best Short Documentary from the Austin Revolution Film Festival.
The Town Hall meeting will give LINC leaders an opportunity to reintroduce the program to the community and allow key contributors featured in the documentary to look back at its historic roots and provide an update on its goals and the services it provides today.
Shaver recently reconnected with retired Wellington Police Chief Tim Barfield and said he wants to premiere the 35-minute documentary in Wellington. Led by Barfield, the program received local, regional, and national attention for providing police-assisted referrals for those seeking substance use recovery services. Barfield remains active with LINC serving as a board member.
LINC was formed in 2016 to help combat the growing opioid crisis. It was revitalized after the pandemic and is now operating as a not-for-profit organization governed by a 12-member volunteer board of directors. It is charged with providing the residents of the villages of Wellington and Rochester and the townships of Brighton, Huntington, Penfield, Pittsfield, Rochester and Wellington with drug education, awareness, harm reduction and treatment services.
The organization is funded through a three-year, $1 million Rural Communities Opioid Response Implementation grant issued by the U. S. Health and Resources Services Administration. The grant is administered by the Rural Response Network under the auspices of Riveon Mental Health and Recovery, (formerly The LCADA Way which merged with The Nord Center effective July 1).
LINC has been supplying the community with Naloxone kits, fentanyl test strips, locking medication storage bags, and medication disposal pouches.
Admission is free to the Town Hall meeting. The program will include a question and answer session
Terry Mazzone
Community Coordinator
Wellington LINC
Local Initiative Networking Compassion
440-823-2153