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Portland, Maine

Maine Substance Use Prevention Services hosts panel and screening of Maine-based documentary

U N E's Portland campus quad in the fall
The screening of "Jacinta" and the accompanying panel were held on Dec. 8, 2021.

The Maine Substance Use Prevention Services (SUPS), housed within UNE’s Center for Excellence in Public Health (CEPH), recently hosted a screening of the Maine-based documentary, "Jacinta," along with a follow-up panel discussion featuring the real-life Jacinta, on whose story the film was based, and director Jessica Earnshaw.

The screening and panel were held Dec. 8 in partnership with Maine Osteopathic Association, Maine Public Health Association, and AdCare Educational Institute of Maine.

“Jacinta” is an intimate portrait of mothers and daughters and the effects of trauma. The documentary follows a young woman in and out of prison as she attempts to break free from an inherited cycle of addiction, incarceration, and crime.

Among the panelists was Nicholas Beverage, M.S.Ed., PPS, program coordinator for Maine SUPS, who stressed the importance of primary prevention during the opioid crisis and highlighted the work statewide that CEPH has collaborated on with Maine's CDC and Maine Prevention Services.

This was an excellent opportunity for UNE's Center for Excellence in Public Health to showcase this compelling documentary that is at times heartbreaking and hopeful and dive into the importance of supporting people toward recovery and intervening early to prevent substance use disorders in others,” said Maine SUPS Program Manager Doreen Fournier, M.S.W.

Photo of man in glasses smiling for portrait
Nicholas Beverage, M.S.Ed., PPS

About the University of New England

The University of New England is Maine’s largest independent university, with two beautiful coastal campuses in Maine, a one-of-a-kind study abroad campus in Tangier, Morocco, and an array of flexible, accredited online degrees. In an uncommonly welcoming and supportive community, we offer hands-on learning, empowering students to make a positive impact in a world full of challenges. The state’s top provider of health professionals, we are home to Maine’s only medical college, Maine’s only dental college, a variety of other interprofessionally aligned health care degree programs, as well as nationally recognized programs for marine science degrees, natural and social sciences degrees, arts and humanities degrees, and business degrees.