For Immediate Release

Friday, Feb. 19, 2016

Contact: John Guilfoil
Phone: 617-993-0003
Email: john@jgpr.net

College Recovery Partners With P.A.A.R.I. to Offer Addiction Recovery Services to Participants

NEWTON and NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. — Gloucester Police Chief Leonard Campanello and John Rosenthal, co-founders of The Police Assisted Addiction and Recovery Initiative (P.A.A.R.I.), are pleased to announce that College Recovery has joined the growing list of treatment centers that have partnered with P.A.A.R.I. to offer addiction recovery services to program participants.

Over the summer, Chief Campanello and businessman John Rosenthal launched P.A.A.R.I. — a nonprofit organization created in response to Gloucester Police Department’s ANGEL Initiative. Rather than arrest their way out of the problem of drug addiction, police departments place those who come to them for help into treatment programs. As partnerships with recovery centers continue to grow, so does P.A.A.R.I.’s ability to support police departments who want to assist their communities in saving lives.

“As communities become more educated on the disease of addiction we are all beginning to see that it is frequently more effective for the problem of addiction to be treated as a public health issue, rather than as a criminal justice issue,” said Joel Pomales, Director of Advocacy at College Recovery. “P.A.A.R.I., with their innovative approach, is performing a great service and accomplishing results. They are helping to satisfy a great need in our country and we feel obligated to offer our support and to get involved. We look forward to the positive impact we will have on our communities, and hope to see this initiative continue to grow and spread across the country.”

College Recovery is devoted to helping free young adults from addiction, substance abuse, alcohol or drug dependency, relapse and associated mental or behavioral health issues. They offer partial hospitalization and a long-term aftercare program with numerous outpatient groups including men’s and women’s groups, college success, family education, relapse prevention, health and wellness, anger management, interpersonal effectiveness, stages of change, dialectical behavioral therapy, motivational enhancement, trauma, coping with emotions, self esteem, seeking safety, manipulating behaviors, writing for recovery, art and music expression, spirituality, and meditation groups. 

Chief Campanello and Rosenthal are pleased to welcome College Recovery as a partner and commend them for stepping up to help meet the need for additional resources for P.A.A.R.I. participants. They are eager to work together to continue on their mission of saving lives and destigmatizing the disease of addiction.

About College Recovery:

Based out of New Brunswick, N.J., College Recovery focuses not only on treating addiction and sustaining recovery, but also on helping clients rediscover themselves by finding out who they are and what they like to do. Clients will find new, healthy ways to fill their time through recreational activities that College Recovery offers in a safe and supportive environment.

The staff at College Recovery consists exclusively of clinicians that are dually licensed in mental health and substance use disorders, and psychiatrists that are certified by the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM). They go above and beyond to ensure that the unique needs of each individual are addressed through specialized group treatment plans. College Recovery has 11 other centers in California, Texas and Arizona.

About P.A.A.R.I.:

P.A.A.R.I. was started to support local police departments as they work with opioid addicts. Rather than arrest our way out of the problem of drug addiction, P.A.A.R.I. committed police departments:

• Encourage opioid drug users to seek recovery
• Help distribute life saving opioid blocking drugs to prevent and treat overdoses
• Connect people suffering with opioid addiction with treatment programs and facilities
• Provide resources to other police departments and communities that want to do more to fight the opioid addiction epidemic

P.A.A.R.I. was created by Gloucester Police Chief Leonard Campanello and John Rosenthal to bridge the gap between the police department and persons suffering from the disease of opiate addiction who are seeking recovery. Since its founding, more than 40 police departments in 14 states have joined as partners with the initiative.

###