Old Saybrook — Allan Griffen told a room full of people Wednesday at a forum on opioid addiction that he could never have imagined where he is today.   

From a very young age, Griffen said, he felt like there was a void inside him that he could never fill.

He began using prescription pills in high school and it then progressed to heroin when pills became too expensive or too hard to find.

March 1 marked five years that he has been in recovery.

Today, he said, he has a beautiful wife, a 9-month-old daughter, his own home and the respect of his family.

He is a good worker, son, and brother.

"You cannot put a price on that," said Griffen of The Granite House, a treatment facility in New Hampshire.

Griffen was one of a dozen panelists at a forum Wednesday at the Acton Public Library on Connecticut's opiate addiction crisis hosted by State Sens. Paul Formica, R-East Lyme, and Art Linares, R-Westbrook, and Rep. Devin Carney, R-Old Saybrook.

The legislators said they would take what they learned Wednesday back to the Capitol.

The panelists included doctors, paramedics, representatives involved in addiction recovery and prevention, and law enforcement members.

Kristen Granatek, the director of prevention initiatives for The Governor's Prevention Partnership, encouraged parents to have conversations with their children about drugs and alcohol "early and often," saying that children are 50 percent less likely to use drugs if they have had a conversation with their parents. 

The state's Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services Commissioner Miriam E. Delphin-Rittmon told the audience that treatment is available.

The department has started a 1-800 number (800-563-4086) for local assessment centers to help link people with the appropriate services. The walk-in centers can also be reached online at www.ct.gov/dmhas/walkins

"If you or a family member is grappling with heroin or opioid addiction, we want you to know that recovery is possible and treatment is available," she said.

J. Craig Allen, the medical director of Rushford, said that addiction is a disease of the brain and should be treated that way.

He said that as with other diseases, people can relapse. He spoke about the need for "humanistic care and approach" in treating addiction.

Ron Kersey, the EMS coordinator and director of paramedic services at Lawrence + Memorial Hospital in New London, said the hospital has been at the center of a spike in heroin overdoses, unlike anything he has seen in his career.

He encouraged access to the opioid-reversing Narcan for those whose loved ones are at risk but stressed the need for them to still call 911, because people given Narcan can still lapse back into a coma.    

After the panelists spoke, attendees shared their own stories and concerns.

Laura Sicignano said her daughter-in-law died on Monday after being refused treatment on Friday for heroin addiction because she was told she wasn't in enough withdrawal to fit the insurance criteria.

Sicignano said she herself is a recovering addict who has been sober for 20 years and lost her husband to drugs. She said she wants "to be an agent for change."

"I believe in treatment and recovery," she said. "There needs to be a voice for those that are addicted, recovering and seeking treatment. I want to be that voice. There are barriers to receiving treatment. They need to educate on the barriers and the stigma attached." 

k.drelich@theday.com