FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Thursday, June 20, 2019

Media Contact: Jordan Mayblum
Phone: 617-993-0003
Email: [email protected]

*Media Advisory*

P.A.A.R.I. to Partner with Meredith Management, Gerding Edlen, and John Moriarty and Associates to Launch First Recovery-Friendly Construction Site Program

BOSTON — Executive Director Allie Hunter is pleased to announce that the Police Assisted Addiction and Recovery Initiative (P.A.A.R.I.) is partnering with Boston-based construction company John Moriarty and Associates and real estate development companies Meredith Management and Gerding Edlen to launch a pioneering new initiative to provide onsite access to life-saving naloxone, training, and recovery support, as part of ongoing efforts to create recovery-friendly construction sites.

WHEN:

Friday, June 21 at 11 a.m.

WHERE:

Fenway Center, 771 Beacon St., Boston

WHO:

• P.A.A.R.I. Co-founder & Chairman and Meredith Management President John Rosenthal
• John Moriarty and Associates Project Executive On Site and Chief Engineer Barry Gehron
• P.A.A.R.I. Executive Director Allie Hunter
• Tac Life Systems / NarCase Managing Partner Josh DeLisle
• P.A.A.R.I. Recovery Corps Recovery Coaches
• Fenway Center team and construction crew

WHAT:

P.A.A.R.I. is pleased to announce that it has partnered with Meredith Management President John Rosenthal, Gerding Edlen, and John Moriarty and Associates President John Moriarty to launch a new initiative to provide onside access to life-saving naloxone, training, and recovery support, as part of ongoing efforts to create recovery-friendly construction sites for the building trades. Given the opioid epidemic’s toll on the construction industry, these efforts aim to reduce stigma surrounding the opioid epidemic and encourage individuals struggling with substance use disorders to connect with local treatment and support services.

On May 3, as part of the Building Trades Employer’s Association’s (BTEA), “Building Trades for Recovery Week,” the Fenway Center team and construction crew participated in a statewide “150 Second Stand Down for Recovery” in honor of opioid overdose deaths. P.A.A.R.I. Co-founder & Chairman and Meredith Management President John Rosenthal and John Moriarty, President of John Moriarty and Associates, also made a pledge to make the Fenway Center a recovery-friendly construction site, with trainings, resources, and life-saving naloxone — also known as NARCAN — available onsite.

The Fenway Center program will launch June 21 with a training from P.A.A.R.I. on overdose awareness and nasal naloxone administration. P.A.A.R.I. has also partnered with Tac Life Systems/NarCase to create a first-of-its-kind specialty NARCAN kit that has been custom developed for work sites and other venue-based naloxone access programs.

NarCase kits will be wall-mounted in six locations at the Fenway Center construction site, four of which will be in construction hoist elevators, allowing the quickest on-the-scene access to the medication in the event of an opioid overdose. Single step 4-mg NARCAN and NarCases will also be distributed to crew members during the event.

The new initiative will also include access to informational materials from P.A.A.R.I., including referral cards for P.A.A.R.I.’s team of Recovery Corps Recovery Coaches, who can provide support to individuals struggling with substance use disorders or are in need of support for a loved one.

John Moriarty and Associates, one of the largest union general contractors in New England, has also committed to implementing this program on all of their construction sites.

Hunter said, “Due to a higher incidence of workplace injuries and a greater likelihood of being prescribed opioid painkillers, construction workers account for nearly 25 percent of opioid-related deaths in the working population in Massachusetts. P.A.A.R.I. has been fortunate to partner with both the fishing industry and now the construction industry to provide training and support to help make life-saving NARCAN and treatment more accessible to a population that’s been greatly affected by the opioid epidemic. We hope this program will inspire other construction companies and worksites of all kinds to launch similar initiatives that prepare for overdose scenarios and create stigma-free access points to treatment and recovery.”

Rosenthal added, “I’m very proud to be working with John Moriarty and Associates, one of the finest General Contractors in America and the incredibly talented Union Building Trades at Fenway. The opioid epidemic has hit the construction trades extremely hard and we’re honored to help provide life-saving NARCAN and access to treatment and recovery for these hard working men and women on our development site.”

“Our industry has been hit hard by the opioid epidemic and our goal is to break down the stigma surrounding substance use disorder, through education, training, and by equipping sites with life-saving naloxone. We are committed to creating a culture where the men and women working on our sites know that recovery is possible and that we are here to help. This model for a recovery-friendly worksite will be rolled out to all of our projects, and we are grateful to all of our partners for their support in this important, life-saving new program,” Moriarty said.

Tom Gunning of the Building Trades Employers Association added, “We are inspired to see this collaborative partnership bring meaningful solutions to construction job sites in Boston in an effort to change the narrative for those struggling with substance use disorder.”

“Emergent BioSolutions commends the efforts of P.A.A.R.I. to create recovery-friendly construction sites, which includes increasing access and awareness to NARCAN in case of an accidental opioid overdose,” said Thom Duddy, Vice President, Communications Emergent BioSolutions.

“To help eliminate the stigma of addiction, we encourage employer policies that make it possible for workers to keep their jobs, and strategies that preserve worker dignity and prevent re-injury,” said Monica Bharel, MD, MPH, Commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.

“I am grateful for this partnership because it works to promote substance use education and reduce addiction stigma,” said Boston Mayor Marty Walsh. “This innovative recovery-friendly worksite is a continuation of excellent work being done by P.A.A.R.I. and their partners. We are proud of our partnership with P.A.A.R.I. through the Boston Police and the Office of Recovery Services, providing substance use services to those in need of support.”

There will be opportunities for media to shoot photos and videos at this event.

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 450 police departments in 33 states. 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.

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