Methuen’s Jennifer Burns to Receive ‘Unsung Heroines’ Award

Jennifer Burns and Jacquelyn Ingersoll of Methuen’s Community Addiction Resource Engagement Services. (Courtesy photograph.)

Jennifer Burns, right, with Jacquelyn Ingersoll, last year when both became full-time employees of the Methuen Police Department. (Courtesy photograph.)

Jennifer Burns and Rep. Diana Dizoglio during Alcohol Awareness Day at the State House. (Courtesy photograph.)

Jennifer Burns and Rep. Diana Dizoglio during Alcohol Awareness Day at the State House. (Courtesy photograph.)

Methuen resident Jennifer Burns has been named one of 2016’s “Unsung Heroines” by the Massachusetts Commission on the Status of Women, in honor of her work addressing the opioid epidemic in the Merrimack Valley.

Burns will be honored at a ceremony at the Massachusetts State House Wednesday, June 21, 1 p.m., in the Great Hall. The Unsung Heroine initiative identifies and honors extraordinary women from across the Commonwealth. Burns was nominated for the recognition by state Rep. Diana DiZoglio (D-Methuen).

“Through her work with the Methuen Police Department’s CARES initiative and Lawrence’s New Beginnings Peer Recovery Center, Jennifer has helped countless addicts in the region, connecting them with detox programs and providing them with the resources needed to successfully recover,” said DiZoglio. “Jennifer has greatly educated the community on the substance abuse crisis, worked to decrease stigma surrounding addiction and been a true leader in bringing citizens across the Merrimack Valley together to raise awareness and promote both prevention and treatment of substance use.”