At Opioid Response Summit, Governor Mills Urges Maine People to Sustain Commitment to Fighting Substance Use

Data announced at final summit show continued decline in overdose deaths in Maine, but Governor  asks attendees to recommit to ‘preventing addiction in the first place, to supporting people as they start, stumble, or resume their recovery, and to reinforcing the important relationships you are building’

During remarks today at the eighth annual Governor’s Opioid Response Summit, Governor Janet Mills welcomed data showing that overdose deaths declined in Maine for the fourth consecutive year, but urged attendees to sustain the fight against the opioid epidemic. 

The Governor reported at her final opioid summit that fatal overdoses have fallen by nearly 9 percent from January to June 2026 compared to the same period last year, continuing a trend of declining deaths since 2023. In 2024, Maine recorded its largest decrease in drug overdose deaths since 2018. 

“To people across the state of Maine, including the 1,000 people gathered here today and those watching at home, I ask you to recommit to preventing addiction in the first place, to supporting people as they start, stumble, or resume their recovery, and to reinforcing the important relationships you are building here and in communities across Maine – it is those relationships that save lives,” said Governor Janet Mills.

The Governor welcomed the lives saved and significant progress achieved through prevention, naloxone distribution, treatment and recovery support, housing and workforce initiatives, and drug seizures. At the same time, she urged Maine people to sustain their commitment to supporting those on the path to recovery.

The annual summit, held at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor and themed “Building Hope, Honoring Progress, Inspiring Change,” brought together members of the public, health care providers, policy experts, state and federal government leaders, affected individuals and families, advocates, and law enforcement officials to discuss strategies to help Maine people impacted by the opioid crisis. The summit included the voices of 40 people in recovery, the most of any of the Governor’s eight summits.

“The eight Opioid Response Summits that Governor Mills has convened since 2019 have been the center of gravity for much of our work,” said Opioid Response Director Gordon Smith. “They are not simply one-day events, but, along with our monthly educational webinars, a unifying force bringing together hundreds of Maine people to address the problem of substance use in our state. As we convene this final summit, we can be proud of the many lives saved in our communities through the Governor’s leadership and our partnerships across Maine.”

“Fewer overdose deaths mean more Maine people have the opportunity to access treatment, recover and thrive,” said Department of Health and Human Services Commissioner Sara Gagné-Holmes. “We must continue building on this progress because every life is worth fighting for.”

During today’s summit, Governor Mills honored Ron Springel and Pat Kimball with the Governor's Award for their extraordinary contributions in the fight against substance use disorder. 

Springel, a retired physician, is Executive Director of the Maine Association of Recovery Residences, which has certified 119 recovery homes in every county in Maine over the last eight years. In long-term recovery himself, Springel has demonstrated unwavering support and commitment to those facing substance use disorder. 

Kimball has devoted decades to advocating for those struggling with substance use disorder and their families, most recently as chair of the Maine Recovery Council following her retirement as leader of WellSpring Maine, a Bangor-based nonprofit that provides trauma-informed SUD and co-occurring mental health services to persons with no or low income, promoting recovery and resilience in a compassionate and inclusive environment.

The Governor also paid tribute to the service of Gordon Smith, presenting him with a signed copy of her 2019 Executive Order that established immediate steps to combat the opioid crisis.

 “As Maine’s Director of Opioid Response, Gordon has been my Administration’s eyes and ears on the ground, talking with people all over the state to figure out how we could save lives, show we care and rebuild our communities,” said Governor Janet Mills. “Thank you for leading this important work for the people of Maine, which has saved lives.”

The daylong summit featured 38 breakout sessions moderated by experts on issues including prevention, treatment, addiction research, harm-reduction, public policy, and recovery support. Kathryn Goetzke, CEO and Chief Hope Officer of The Shine Hope Company, a global platform promoting hope as a measurable public health strategy, provided the keynote address. 

Under Governor Mills’ leadership, the state has taken significant actions to save lives from opioids, including:   

• Providing health insurance coverage through MaineCare expansion to about 90,000 Mainers, with nearly 40,000 individuals receiving treatment for substance use;
• Expanding treatment for substance use and opioid use disorder with increases in Medication for Opioid Use Disorder (MOUD), and increasing Opioid Treatment Program (OTP) and providers across the state;
• Delivered recovery coach training to over 4,000 individuals, and recently leveraging federal Rural Health Transformation Program funding to further expand recovery support across the state including in hospital Emergency Department
• Increasing the number of Recovery Community Centers to 19 and Certified Recovery Residences to 119 across the state, with more than 75% of participants entering from detoxification, residential treatment, homelessness, or incarceration;
• Establishing the OPTIONS Program statewide, including adding recovery coaches to OPTIONS teams in Maine to work alongside local emergency services and law enforcement to provide therapeutic interventions, outreach, referrals and post-overdose follow-up for individuals;
• Developing Maine's statewide naloxone distribution program and increasing distribution of naloxone by over 300 percent from 2020 to 2025. Since 2019, the Mills Administration has distributed more than 870,000 doses of naloxone, which has been used to reverse 12,768 overdoses that may have otherwise been fatal;
• Launching Maine’s first Mobile Methadone Unit, which is providing services at the Two Bridges Jail in Wiscasset and will expand to include sites at Belfast Soup Kitchen and the Pleasant Street United Methodist church;
• Expanding Maine's "Good Samaritan" law, first signed by Governor Mills in 2019, which encourages individuals to call for life-saving assistance when someone at their location is experiencing an overdose;
• Providing funding for medically monitored withdrawal beds through the Office of Behavioral Health to support room and board and other costs not covered by MaineCare;
• Vastly expanding team-based treatment of opioid use disorder for eligible MaineCare members and uninsured individuals through Opioid Health Homes;
• Establishing Recovery Friendly Workplaces, with 86 businesses that employ nearly 25,000 employees now designated or certified, with locations in all 16 counties.