Choices Ginger Ross trains Everett, MA Fire Department
” Recovery is Possible!” exclaims EFD after ‘Navigating Addiction for First Responders’ course
Everett, April 2022: Approximately 100 of Everett, Massachusetts Fire Department (FDE) finest completed the ‘Navigating Addiction for First Responders’ training from a grant awarded by RIZE Massachusetts to Ginger Ross BA, CRSW, NCPRSS, and founder/CEO of nationally recognized Choices Addiction and Recovery Education.
Navigating Addiction for First Responders is one of the numerous training that Ginger and her team have presented nationwide, providing foundational, essential information for passionate professionals working and engaging with individuals with substance use disorder (SUD), such as human service workers, law enforcement, frontline, and social workers, family court systems, EAPs, Human Resource Workers, Nurses, Physicians and of course provides education material for family members and loved ones. Ms. Ross highlights a passion for purpose, “your work is vital, and you can improve outcomes for families and communities by learning about the foundations of addiction and recovery; you will feel more confident about the work you do and the recommendations you make” she expresses on her website. The FDE praised the organization,” the goal of these training was to engage with first responders about their challenges working with those with substance use disorder, thanks to presenter Ginger Ross of Choices for her wonderful expertise and knowledge on this matter.”
Ginger credits colleague and recovery coach for Everett FD, Paul Gaurino for bringing the training to fruition. Paul is a committee member of RIZE Massachusetts (RIZE). RIZE is the only public-private partnership with a sole purpose dedicated to funding solutions to end the overdose crisis. Guided by those with lived experience unafraid of new ideas supporting and amplifying community partners who are using novel approaches to preventing overdose. ‘we envision a MA with zero stigma and zero deaths.”
Ginger is a recovery revolutionary after her publishing career, and she began working for the NH Alcohol Drug Abuse Counselors Association, as her wellness job after a five-year high conflict custody case ended. At the time, the peer coach role was a whisper in the NH and the Country, and rapidly becoming a roar the need for peer coach trainings soared. Ginger responded by providing required training statewide; soon after, Ginger founded the NH Recovery Coach Academy educating an estimated 75% of the Peer Coaches in NH, authoring and teaching the complete curriculum required for state credentialing.
Ginger’s most prized training is the Navigating Addiction and Addiction Recovery 101 for Community Partners. “The AR101 training helps people understand how their ideas around addiction and recovery were shaped and those ideas can morph from discriminatory ideas to empathetic support improving outcomes for anyone who is working with or living with someone who experiences Substance Use Disorder (SUD).”
This training model has been delivered to Aroostic County, ME First Responders, Concord, NH Fire Department, Everett, MA Fire Department, FL Guardian Ad Litem Association, NH Guardian Ad Litem Board, and Ad-care Educational Programming – Massachusetts. At each training session, invariably someone pleads, ‘everyone needs this training.”
Ginger has her BA in Psychology and is a CRSW and NCPRSS certified and a US Army Veteran. She is the founder of Choices Training, which has a large library of recovery-oriented training. She is a nationally recognized recovery advocate, trainer, and curriculum design, consultant.