HATFIELD — A former NBA player whose professional basketball career was derailed by addiction will speak at a Smith Academy assembly Wednesday.
The 9 a.m. talk by Chris Herren, a Fall River native who played two years for the Boston Celtics, is the first community prevention event organized by Hatfield’s Opioid Settlement Funds Task Force, established by the Select Board in December 2024 to direct funding from the state’s opioid settlement toward local needs.
Titled “The First Day,” Herren, who played college basketball at Boston College, will lead a 75-minute assembly that begins with a film documenting his basketball career and journey to sobriety, before he speaks directly to students about issues they face.
Through his organization, Herren Talks, he has spoken to more than a million students and community members across the country.
Hatfield is expected to receive more than $125,000 in settlement funds through 2037, with more than $50,000 in hand by next month. The Task Force is chaired by Dr. Timothy Menz of the town’s Board of Health and other members are Police Chief Mike Dekoschak, Town Administrator Andrew Levine, community members Lynn Harlow and Liz Kugler and school nurse Jean Hobbie.
The task force also partnered with the local mental health advocacy group HEADS UP on this project.
The assembly, only open to students, is the result of a community survey done a year ago that received over 100 responses. Residents identified priorities as prevention and education for students and the broader community, and improved connections to care for those directly affected by opioid substance use disorder.
Since then, the task force has worked to strengthen partnerships with treatment providers, compiled a resource list for community members in need and launched peer-led support groups for families and individuals affected by opioids.
“Our community survey told us clearly that residents want us to invest in prevention and in connecting people to care,” Menz said in a statement. “Bringing Chris Herren to Smith Academy is a meaningful first step. His story is powerful, and we believe it will resonate with our students and help open honest conversations about substance use.”
Though this talk is only open to students, the task force anticipates that additional community prevention events will be held in the future.
