By Gabriela C. Martinez

A resolution submitted by Alderman at Large Mary Jo Rossetti at last weeks regular meeting of the Board of Aldermen, proposed employing a Substance Abuse Coordinator to assist Somerville’s families.

Rossetti touched on an interview with Mike Higgins, Woburn’s new Substance-abuse coordinator. The interview, published in the Lowell Sun, illustrates the importance of Higgins’ work in Billerica, which consists of helping addicts seek treatment and providing family counseling.

“An addict wants to talk to somebody who they can trust, because if someone’s going to talk to me, I’m not going to repeat it. It stays in here. If somebody asked me, I’m not going to say a word about it. That’s the trust factor,” Higgins expressed in the interview.

Alderman Rossetti, as well as other aldermen, are sponsoring the initiative of hiring a Substance Abuse Coordinator as a way of providing more specialized care to addicts and helping families get connected to the proper services. According to Rossetti, Somerville’s Police Department is in the process of hiring a person that has the qualities of Woburn’s current Substance-Abuse Coordinator.

“The big issue is that there are city services, private services, but there is no connection between those services and the people who need them,” said Ward 1 Alderman Matthew McLaughlin.