For Immediate Release

Tuesday, Aug. 14, 2018

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

P.A.A.R.I Receives Cummings Foundation Grant to Expand Work With Partner Police Departments

GLOUCESTER — Executive Director Allie Hunter McDade is pleased to announce P.A.A.R.I has been selected for a $100,000 grant from the Cummings Foundation to work with the Woburn, Wilmington, and Burlington Police Departments to create a regional effort to address the opioid epidemic.

This grant will build on P.A.A.R.I’s current project with the Massachusetts Service Alliance and AmeriCorps to embed service members directly in police departments to assist with police-led opioid referral programs. P.A.A.R.I will receive $50,000 per year for two years to provide the three police departments with three part-time Recovery Coaches and a regional full-time Program Coordinator to strengthen their efforts to prevent overdose deaths and expand access to treatment and recovery.

“We are thrilled to have been selected for a $100k for 100 grant from the Cummings Foundation,” Hunter McDade said. “This grant will allow us to leverage our partnership with AmeriCorps to launch a new regional effort with Burlington, Woburn, Wilmington Police Departments. We’re very grateful to the Cummings Foundation for supporting this important, life-saving initiative.”

“The opioid crisis has touched virtually every city and town within the Commonwealth. This  partnership forged through the P.A.A.R.I-AmeriCorps Program will make a very positive impact on people and families within not only Burlington but also the other communities involved in this partnership,” Burlington Police Chief Michael Kent said.

“We are looking forward to this new opportunity and tool to provide our community, we are excited to enter into this grant with P.A.A.R.I and AmeriCorps and to continue to build multi-town capacity by partnering with Burlington and Woburn Police Departments,” said Wilmington Police Chief Michael Begonis.

“The Woburn police department is excited about our  new partnership with PAARI, AmeriCorps and the communities of  Burlington and Wilmington to work toward positive change for those impacted by the opioid crisis,” said Woburn Police Chief Robert Ferullo.

The $100k for 100 program supports nonprofits that are based in and primarily serve Middlesex, Essex and Suffolk counties. Through this place-based initiative, Cummings Foundation aims to give back in the area where it owns commercial buildings. Founded in 1970 by Bill Cummings of Winchester, the Woburn-based commercial real estate firm leases and manages 11 million square feet of space, the majority of which exclusively benefits the Foundation. The Cummings Foundation has awarded more than $220 million during this grant cycle. The complete list of 100 grant winners is available at www.CummingsFoundation.org

“We are indebted to nonprofit organizations like P.A.A.R.I that have a meaningful positive impact on the local communities where we colleagues live and work,” said Joel Swets, Cummings Foundation’s executive director. “We are delighted to invest in their important programs and services.”

Wilmington resident and current P.A.A.R.I AmeriCorps member Margie Taylor has been selected as the program’s full-time regional Program Coordinator and PAARI is currently accepting applications for three half-time AmeriCorps members who will serve as Recovery Coaches, one embedded in each of the three partnering police departments. Interested candidates should visit paariusa.org/americorps for more information and application instructions.

About P.A.A.R.I

The Police Assisted Addiction & Recovery Initiative (P.A.A.R.I) is a nonprofit organization with a mission to help law enforcement agencies nationwide create non-arrest pathways to treatment and recovery. Founded alongside the groundbreaking Gloucester Police Department Angel Initiative in June 2015, P.A.A.R.I has been a driving force behind this rapidly expanding community policing movement. We provide technical assistance, coaching, grants, and other capacity-building resources to more than 430 police departments in 32 states. We currently work with more than 80 law enforcement agencies in Massachusetts alone. P.A.A.R.I and our law enforcement partners are working towards a collective vision where non-arrest diversion programs become a standard policing practice across the country, thereby reducing overdose deaths, expanding access to treatment, improving public safety, reducing crime, diverting people away from the criminal justice system, and increasing trust between law enforcement and their communities. Our programs and partners have saved thousands of lives, changed police culture, and reshaped the national conversation about the opioid epidemic. Learn more at www.paariusa.org.

About Cummings Foundation

Woburn-based Cummings Foundation, Inc. was established in 1986 by Joyce and Bill Cummings. The Foundation directly operates its own charitable subsidiaries, including New Horizons retirement communities in Marlborough and Woburn. Bill Cummings release his self-written memoir, “Starting Small and Making It Big: An Entrepreneur’s Journey to Billion-Dollar Philanthropist,” in March 2018. Additional information is available at www.CummingsFoundation.org and cummings.com/book.

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