FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Friday, Oct. 11, 2019

Media Contact: John Guilfoil
Phone: 617-993-0003
Email: [email protected]

*Media Advisory*

Third Annual P.A.A.R.I. National Law Enforcement Summit to Take Mission to Nation’s Capital

BOSTON — Executive Director Allie Hunter is pleased to announce that the Police Assisted Addiction and Recovery Initiative (P.A.A.R.I.) will host its third annual National Law Enforcement Summit and, for the first time, will gather hundreds of dedicated professionals in the nation’s capital to share strategies to overcome the nationwide opioid epidemic.

WHEN:

• Thursday Dec. 5, from 8:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. (main sessions and reception)
• Friday, Dec. 6, 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. (optional post-summit training, networking and advocacy opportunities)

WHERE: 

U.S. Capitol, Washington, D.C.

• Rayburn House of Representatives Office Building
• Kennedy Caucus Room, Russell Senate Office Building
• Hart Senate Office Building

WHAT: 

In its third year, P.A.A.R.I. will bring its lifesaving first-of-its-kind approach to the opioid crisis to Washington, uniting law enforcement, legislators and public health leaders in a unique setting to advance the work of overcoming the nationwide opioid crisis.

“Every law enforcement executive and manager should take special interest in what this conference can do to help an agency reduce the opioid crisis in the community they serve,” said Gil Kerlikowske, retired Seattle Police Chief, former President of Major Cities Chiefs, former White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) Director and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Commissioner.

The event will connect and empower law enforcement leaders who currently run — or would like to launch — a program to prevent overdose deaths and create non-arrest pathways to treatment and recovery.

Attendees will also have opportunities to meet with members of Congress and other decision makers at the federal level to discuss how local law enforcement agencies can shape public policy in response to the nation’s opioid crisis.

“This event is always the highlight of our year,” Executive Director Hunter said. “By hosting the summit in Washington, it gives our law enforcement leaders an unprecedented chance to meet directly with the lawmakers who can support their work at the local and federal level by focusing on policy that will save lives and enable access to treatment and recovery.”

Registration costs $100 for the two-day summit and is open to all members of law enforcement and their guests. Attendees are encouraged register early, as a very limited number of spots are available. Those who are not members of law enforcement will be added to a wait list and refunded if space is not available. 

To register via Eventbrite, click here.

Click here to see photos from last year’s National Law Enforcement Summit at Harvard Medical School. For videos, presentations, and handouts from past year’s events, click here and here.

Travel and agenda details, including presenters and speakers, will be announced as they become available.

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 MA 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 500 police departments in 33 states. We currently work with more than 130 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, reshaped the national conversation about the opioid epidemic and have placed over 22,000 people into treatment since it’s founding in June 2015. Learn more at www.paariusa.org.

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