Social worker specializes in substance abuse and behavioral issues 

By Caroline Gordon 

The Town of Millis has secured the services of Amy Leone, the town’s first contracted social worker and the Clinical Director and owner of Community Impact, Inc., located in Milford, according to a Facebook post in July by the Millis Police Department.

According to the post, Leone “has been a mental health counselor since 2000 and has made waves in her field of work with the implementation of programs that assist those individuals and loved ones who are struggling with the disease of addiction, helping countless people and their families. This combined with her educational training in mental health and criminal justice make her an exceptional resource in the field of individual and community prevention.” 

Leone and her company will “provide co-response with the Millis Police Department, provide resources and referrals to Public Schools and Elder Services, and provide public health education to town residents of all ages,” according to the post. 

Leone specializes in clients with substance abuse and behavioral issues, and when the opioid epidemic hit, she began working with the former Milford Police Chief and other chiefs within the region to create the Regional Substance Navigation Program. 

She said the program responded to overdoses and offered support to people who were struggling with addiction, and their families. 

Leone said the service has continued and has “morphed into the co-response that deals with mental health and substance abuse.”

Additionally, she opened a recovery resource center, in collaboration with the District Attorney and the Bureau of Justice in Milford, which provides resources, such as support groups and counselors, to people (and their families) with addictions. 

“This is doing the same thing I am doing in the town of Millis. It’s taking a lot of my experience already and trying to recreate what we’ve done in the other towns that’s been successful,” she said. 

Although Leone has only been working with the Millis Police for a short time, she said the officers she works with have been “so welcoming” in regard to the resources she provides. 

“They [the police department] are very open to seeing what this can be for the community. They are like a family,” she said. 

For more information, visit www.millispolice.org/ 

Theresa Knapp contributed to this article.