Stephanie Patton of OASIS Looks to Kick Substance Abuse in Town

Stoughton Patch's Town Employee Spotlight profiles dedicated town employees whose hard work contributes to the continued betterment of our community.

Have anyone you would like to see featured as part of this series? Let us know by emailing jeffrey.pickette@patch.com.

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Stephanie Patton-Stoughton Substance Abuse Prevention Coordinator, OASIS Coalition

For Stephanie Patton, the Organizing Against Substances in Stoughton Coalition () seems to run in her blood. Not just because of her strong belief in minimizing substance abuse but because she has seen the initiative grow from it’s infancy in 2004. 

Since then, Patton has been serving OASIS in many capacities.  With her OASIS career beginning with heroine prevention grant planning, to her most recent role prior to coming to Stoughton, as the Program Director for the Southeast Center for Healthy Communities.  

As Program Director at the Southeast Center for Healthy Communities, Patton’s role included supporting all the participating Southeast Communities with their substance abuse prevention programs.  

Now in Patton’s new role of OASIS Coalition Coordinator (), she looks to do much of the same and more for the town of Stoughton.

Patton will help to identify substance abuse trends and will help to indentify and implement various strategies to reduce substance abuse in town, especially for school-aged children.

She would like to get the whole community on board in helping to come up with solutions to dealing with substance abuse. Patton said she is setting up social media pages on Facebook and Twitter and has started to conduct focus groups with children in town.

While she is a Brookline native and now resident of Easton, Stephanie Patton has a strong tie to Stoughton besides that of OASIS. Her mother, Mrs. Miller, is a well-known retired teacher from the .  

Best words to describe my job…

"Community Organizer"

My Job Entails…

A little bit of everything. Essentially, being a facilitator of change within the community for the prevention of substance abuse.

This position is right for me…

Not only is community work is a passion of mine, I have a history with the organization and I am vested in the success of this both professionally and personally because I have family in Stoughton.

Favorite part of the job…

I really like the folks involved in the group and the ability to watch a community change and grow is exciting, especially since I helped plant the seed with the initial grant.

Frustrations of the job…

We are starting to see some changes at the high school level...social change is a long process and is not easy. If it was easy we would have it solved already.

When I am off the clock…

It really depends on the season, my husband and I have always enjoyed outdoor activities like kayaking and cross country skiing. My husband and I built two kayaks.  

(Patton and her husband have an 11-month old daughter and do a lot of biking and hiking as a family and plan to take her with them cross country skiing.)

Favorite Hangout…

My parents have a house in New Hampshire by the water. We can do all the things we like to do there. It is a nice little getaway because we are homebodies.

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If anyone is interested in becoming involved with the OASIS Coalition or to learn more about it on a whole, Stephanie Patton encourages you to contact her via phone, 781-341-2252 ext. 9456 or email, spatton@stoughton-ma.gov.

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