Central Middlesex Police Partnership Continues Working with P.A.A.R.I to Build Capacity of Opioid Program

Police Departments Receive Second AmeriCorps Grant to Bring on Part-Time Recovery Coach

MIDDLESEX COUNTY — The Police Chiefs of Acton, Bedford, Concord, Carlisle, Lincoln, Lexington, Stow, Maynard and Hanscom Air Force Base, which make up the Central Middlesex Police Partnership (CMPP), are pleased to announce that their police departments have received their second AmeriCorps grant from the Police Assisted Addiction and Recovery Initiative (P.A.A.R.I) to bring on a part-time recovery coach to increase the group’s addiction and recovery efforts.

This groundbreaking statewide program, which launched last year, places 25 AmeriCorps members in host police department sites across Massachusetts. They then work to build the capacity of law enforcement programs and assist those suffering from substance use disorders by connecting them to treatment and recovery services that divert them from the criminal justice system.

CMPP communities are among the 73 police departments selected to receive an AmeriCorps grant from P.A.A.R.I.

“We’re excited to continue to bolster our efforts to support those with substance use disorders and their loved ones,” said CMPP’s Jail Diversion Coordinator Alia Toran-Burrell. “Last year’s recovery coach was a great asset in providing life saving resources to our community members.”

To make the AmeriCorps program possible, P.A.A.R.I received a three-year grant from the Massachusetts Service Alliance and the Corporation for National and Community Service to assist with local police-led addiction and recovery programs in light of the growing opioid epidemic.

“P.A.A.R.I’s mission is to provide resources to help law enforcement agencies combat the opioid epidemic and this innovative program will add significant capacity to our law enforcement partners and utilize service as a solution to address critical community needs,” said P.A.A.R.I Executive Director Allie Hunter McDade. “We are thrilled that CMPP has signed on as a partner for the second year of the groundbreaking program.”

P.A.A.R.I and CMPP are currently seeking applications for the part-time recovery coach to be based in the Bedford area. The recovery coach will receive a twice monthly living allowance of $339, 60 hours of training and 35 hours of supervision toward the CARC Recovery Coach Certification and valuable experience working in the field. Recovery Coaches who successfully complete a term of service also receive a Segal AmeriCorps Education Award of up to $2,907.50, which may be used to pay educational costs at post-secondary educational institutions or to pay student loans.

“We’ve seen firsthand the difference working with a recovery coach can have on our communities,” Concord Police Chief Joseph O’Connor said. “We’re thankful to be able to be a part of P.A.A.R.I’s AmeriCorps program for another year so that we can expand upon the work we’ve been doing on the local level.”

Interested applicants can find more information and application instructions here.

About AmeriCorps:
AmeriCorps is a civil society program that engages adults in public service work with a goal of helping others and meeting critical needs in the community. Members commit to full-time or part-time positions offered by a network of nonprofit community organizations and public agencies to fulfill assignments in the fields of education, public safety, healthcare, and environmental protection. There are more than 75,000 Americans in service each year.

About P.A.A.R.I:
The Police Assisted Addiction & Recovery Initiative (P.A.A.R.I) is a 501c3 nonprofit with a mission to help law enforcement agencies establish pre-arrest programs that create immediate and stigma-free entry points to treatment and recovery programs. P.A.A.R.I works across sectors to provide training, coaching, and support; program models, policies and procedures, and templates; seed grants; connections to over 300 vetted treatment centers; a network of like-minded law enforcement agencies; a unified voice with media and legislators; and capacity building through AmeriCorps. P.A.A.R.I is free to join and open to any law enforcement agency that believes in treatment over arrest and views addiction as a disease not a crime. Since June 2015, P.A.A.R.I has helped launch more than 400 law enforcement programs in 32 states, distributed 10,000 4mg doses of life-saving nasal naloxone, and helped over 18,000 people into treatment.

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