opioid

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

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For Immediate Release

Wednesday, Aug. 29, 2018

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

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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Arlington Police Chief Co-Authors National “10 Standards of Care” for Police Responding to Opioid Crisis

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Arlington Police Department
Frederick Ryan, Chief of Police
112 Mystic St.
Arlington, MA 02474

For Immediate Release

Friday, June 1, 2018

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

Arlington Police Chief Co-Authors National “10 Standards of Care” for Police Responding to Opioid Crisis

Chief Ryan One of Three Police Chiefs to Participate in Historic National Summit on Addiction Policy with Johns Hopkins University

ARLINGTON — Police Chief Frederick Ryan is proud to announce the release of a groundbreaking document aimed at guiding the actions and policies of police departments nationwide that are scrambling to respond to the opioid crisis. The work comes after a historic gathering of municipal police chiefs, policymakers and academic leaders from Johns Hopkins University’s Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Now, the proven strategies employed by the nationally-modeled Arlington Outreach Initiative are being melded with efforts in Vermont and West Virginia in a Johns Hopkins publication entitled “Ten Standards of Care: Policing and The Opioid Crisis.”

In the publication, Chief Ryan, along with Burlington, Vermont Police Chief Brandon Del Pozo, Morgantown, West Virginia Police Chief Edward Preston argue for a significant shift in the approach taken by municipal police departments.

“Law enforcement officers are on the front lines of addressing this nationwide crisis. They are often the first to arrive on the scene of an overdose. They encounter and respond to the consequences of addiction every day. They see the toll the crisis is taking on communities, and they have a critical role to play in influencing how communities address it,” said the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg American Health Initiative in a statement accompanying the document’s release Thursday.

For Chief Ryan, who has testified before Congress and has sat around the table with the past two presidential administrations and the U.S. Surgeon General, the “Ten Standards of Care” lends national academic credence to an evolving set of policies  that police departments have rapidly begun to employ. These procedures have become all the more important in recent years, as overdoses now exceed motor vehicle crashes as the leading cause of accidental death in the United States.

“The opioid epidemic, especially with the dramatic and unprecedented rise in synthetic drugs like Fentanyl, represents one of the most significant public health emergencies in a generation. This cannot be solved by arresting and incarcerating more people. As police officers, we are often the first on scene and are being called upon to do something as more and more Americans die every day,” Chief Ryan said. “We did not ask for this responsibility, and we must open our minds to new, research-backed methods. The opioid crisis is, itself, the evolution of a longstanding drug addiction and mental health problem in our society, and those of us in the law enforcement community must evolve our methods to tackle it.”

In addition to the Arlington Opiate Outreach Initiative and other municipal programs, the document recognizes The Police Assisted Addiction and Recovery Initiative (P.A.A.R.I.) as a promising approach that has been adapted by hundreds of police departments across the country. Chief Ryan is a founding member and co-chairman of P.A.A.R.I., and he chairs its Police Council. 

The “Ten Standards of Care” was co-authored by the chiefs and Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance, Former Office of National Drug Control Policy Directors Gil Kerlikowske and Michael Botticelli, and six members of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. It is the product of a historic meeting of chiefs, veteran policymakers and academic leaders on May 3-4 at the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF) headquarters in Washington, D.C. The document contains consensus best practices for police departments responding to the opioid crisis.

Working together, the group developed these 10 standards of care to serve as a guide for police departments and other law enforcement agencies trying to grapple with this crisis. They are:

1. Focus on overdose deaths. Just as homicide is the leading indicator for violence, the standard of care for police departments should be to work with public health agencies toward the goal of reducing overdose deaths. This can be done by using data-driven approaches and rigorous research to drive strategies and measure effectiveness.

2. Use naloxone. Nasal Narcan saves thousands of lives each year. To reverse otherwise fatal overdoses, the standard of care for departments should be to equip and train officers in the use of naloxone.

3. Educate on addiction and stigma. As respected and influential voices in their communities, police and health departments should work together to support training and public education on addiction to dispel the stigma on people with substance use disorders. Within police departments, the standard of care should be for this training to be part of the naloxone program.

4. Refer to treatment. To save lives from overdose, address opioid addiction and reduce recidivism, the standard of care should be for departments to equip, train and recognize officers for helping people in need access effective treatment that offers all three FDA-approved medications.

5. Advocate for “on demand” treatment access. To save lives from overdose, address opioid addiction and reduce recidivism, the standard of care should be for departments to advocate for “on-demand” access to addiction treatment that offers all three FDA-approved medications.

6. Advocate for treatment for those who are incarcerated or under community supervision. To save lives from overdose, address opioid addiction and reduce recidivism, the standard of care should be for departments to advocate for access to effective treatment that offers all three FDA-approved medications for individuals in jail, in prison and under community supervision with the appropriate transition to continuing care.

7. Prevent outbreaks. To reduce HIV and hepatitis outbreaks, protect officer health and help individuals reach treatment, the standard of care should be for departments to collaborate with public health and community-based agencies to support well-managed syringe service programs.

8. Consider fentanyl detection. To prevent death due to fentanyl and its analogues, the standard of care should be for departments to explore efforts with public health and community partners to help individuals detect the presence of fentanyl in their drugs.

9. Explore innovation. The standard of care should be for departments to explore, with their public health, law enforcement and community partners, the evidence on the efficacy of supervised consumption spaces to connect people to treatment and reduce overdoses.

10. Support Good Samaritan laws. To facilitate an effective and broad response to the opioid epidemic, the standard of care should be for departments to work to make sure that Good Samaritan laws are understood and implemented consistent with the spirit and intent of the legislation.

Click here to download the document in LONG or SHORT form.

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About the Arlington Opiate Outreach Initiative:

In July 2015, Chief Frederick Ryan and the Arlington Police Department outlined a new strategy for police officers to get directly involved in the demand side of the heroin and opiate crisis by working with a public health clinician to conduct direct outreach to the known substance user community and their families, friends and caregivers. This program is called the Arlington Opiate Outreach Initiative. Read more here and here.

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Plymouth County Outreach Featured in National Policing Magazine

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Wednesday, March 21, 2018

Media Contact: Benjamin Paulin
Phone: 781-742-3922
Email: [email protected]

Plymouth County Outreach Featured in National Policing Magazine

East Bridgewater and Plymouth Police Chiefs Help Pen Article in The Police Chief Magazine

TO READ THE ARTICLE CLICK HERE

EAST BRIDGEWATER — Chief Scott Allen is pleased to announce that Plymouth County Outreach was recently featured in the March issue of The Police Chief Magazine.

The nationally distributed magazine is a product of the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP). The entire March issue was dedicated to the topic of current issues involving drugs.

The 3,700-word article entitled “Leading a Community Solution to a Community Problem” was penned by Chief Allen and Plymouth Police Chief Michael Botieri, with the assistance of Stonehill College assistant criminology professor Pamela Kelley, Roger Williams University criminal justice professor Sean Varano and Patrick Nevins, assistant director of grants and special projects in the Plymouth District Attorney’s Office.

The article provides an in-depth look at the opioid epidemic that local law enforcement has been dealing with for more than a decade. It highlights the tactics, partnerships and ongoing efforts to find solutions that help save lives and offer substance users the help and recovery options they need.

Plymouth County Outreach (PCO) is an opioid prevention and recovery coalition made up of 27 municipal police departments in Plymouth County, along with the Bridgewater State University Police.

PCO has partnered with healthcare and treatment and recovery agencies, along with local coalitions, faith-based organizations and four of the five hospitals in the county, to help overcome the opioid epidemic in Plymouth County.

“Having Plymouth County Outreach and our county collaboration featured in the magazine is an honor and a privilege. It has taken a lot of dedication and hard work by our coalition to get PCO where it is today,” Chief Allen said.

Said Chief Botieri, “While we don’t profess to have all of the answers, it is great to be able to use the magazine as a platform to share what we have learned with law enforcement members across the country. This epidemic is something we are all dealing with.”

TO READ THE ARTICLE CLICK HERE

About Plymouth County Outreach:

All 28 Plymouth County police chiefs have committed to working across the county in proactively assisting those impacted by the opioid crisis. As PCO has evolved, since expanding in December 2016, its organizational structure has grown to include an advisory board. The board is made up of 12 police chiefs and also includes three physicians from South Shore Hospital, Signature Healthcare Brockton Hospital and Plymouth’s Board of Health and an executive from South Shore Hospital. This group has been meeting regularly to further develop and enhance PCO’s goals.

The chiefs and advisory board are pleased to announce that Governor Charlie Baker, in his FY’19 budget, has earmarked $100,000 in funds to support PCO as a pilot program, with the goal of hiring a full-time program coordinator. The advisory board has also worked to extend its partnerships with leaders in the healthcare, public health, treatment and recovery fields to further PCO’s mission. PCO’s board has worked to extend partnerships with neighboring county’s as well, working to open lines of communication using its multi-jurisdictional approach with neighbor cities and towns.

Plymouth County Outreach is a collaborative of police departments throughout Plymouth County led by the following chiefs: Abington Chief David Majenski, Bridgewater Chief Christopher Delmonte, Bridgewater State University Chief David Tillinghast, Brockton Chief John Crowley, Carver Chief Marc Duphily, Duxbury Chief Matthew Clancy, East Bridgewater Chief Scott Allen, Halifax Chief Ted Broderick, Hanover Chief Walter Sweeney, Hanson Chief Michael Miksch, Hingham Chief Glenn Olsson, Hull Chief John Dunn, Kingston Chief Maurice Splaine, Lakeville Chief Frank Alvihiera, Marion Chief Lincoln Miller, Marshfield Chief Phillip Tavares, Mattapoisett Chief Mary Lyons, Middleboro Chief Joseph Perkins, Norwell Chief Ted Ross, Pembroke Chief Richard Wall, Plymouth Chief Michael Botieri, Plympton Chief Patrick Dillon, Rochester Chief Paul Magee, Rockland Chief John Llewellyn, Scituate Chief Michael Stewart, Wareham Chief Kevin Walsh, West Bridgewater Chief Victor Flaherty and Whitman Chief Scott D. Benton.

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*Media Advisory* Governor Baker to Give Opening Remarks at Inaugural P.A.A.R.I. National Law Enforcement Summit

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PAARI_Logo_PUB_052815-06

P.A.A.R.I.
John Rosenthal, Co-founder & Chairman
186 Main Street
Gloucester, MA 01930

For Immediate Release

Thursday, Nov. 30, 2017

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

*Media Advisory*

Governor Baker to Give Opening Remarks at Inaugural P.A.A.R.I. National Law Enforcement Summit 

More than 200 Leaders from Around the Country to Attend

GLOUCESTER — The Police Assisted Addiction and Recovery Initiative (P.A.A.R.I.) is pleased to welcome law enforcement leaders from throughout the nation next week at its first National Law Enforcement Summit.

The event, which is the first of its kind, will bring more than 200 leaders from 27 states and the District of Columbia to Boston. It is completely open to press, and a schedule of speaking programs is attached below.

WHO: 

  • Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker
  • Sandro Galea, Dean, Boston University School of Public Health
  • John Rosenthal, P.A.A.R.I. Co-Founder and Co-Chairman
  • Frederick Ryan, P.A.A.R.I. Co-Chairman, Police Council Chairman and Arlington Police Chief
  • Allie Hunter McDade, P.A.A.R.I. Executive Director
  • P.A.A.R.I. National Police Council Members
  • More than 200 law enforcement leaders

WHEN:

  • Tuesday, Dec. 5, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
  • Wednesday, Dec. 6 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

 

WHERE:

Boston University School of Medicine

72 East Concord St. (14th floor), Boston

 

WHAT:

The P.A.A.R.I. National Law Enforcement Summit is a groundbreaking event that will connect law enforcement leaders from around the country who have changed their approach to the opioid epidemic in their communities and taken the lead in preventing overdose deaths and providing access to addiction treatment and recovery.

Over 200 police leaders from agencies of all sizes will be in attendance at the summit, which will include a keynote address from Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker.

The summit will empower law enforcement agencies to outline their successes and challenges in combating the nationwide opioid epidemic, and will serve as a platform for the sharing of ideas on how to build upon, or launch, a pre-arrest addiction and recovery referral program in order to provide those struggling with addiction with the help they need.

MEDIA LOGISTICS:

There will be opportunities for television, radio and print/online media interviews, and staff will be on-site to assist media. Law enforcement leaders from the following states will be in attendance and are generally available for interviews: Arizona, Connecticut, Washington D.C., Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Virginia, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin. 

Affiliates may be interested in drawing from their local stations. Boston has NBC (NBC Boston/New England Cable News and Telemundo), CBS (WBZ), Hearst (ABC affiliate WCVB), Sunbeam (WHDH) and Cox Media (Fox affiliate WFXT) television news broadcast stations. 

SCHEDULE:

Tuesday, December 5

 

8:30 a.m. — Networking Breakfast

9 a.m. — Welcome from Chief Frederick Ryan, P.A.A.R.I. Co-Chairman, Arlington, Mass.

9:20 a.m. — Welcome from Sandro Galea, Dean, BU School of Public Health

9:30 a.m.  — Welcome from John Rosenthal, P.A.A.R.I. Co-Founder and Co-Chairman

9:45 a.m. — Introduction of Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker from Chief Frederick Ryan and John Rosenthal

10 a.m. — Remarks from Gov. Charlie Baker

10:15 a.m. — Opioid Epidemic and P.A.A.R.I. 101

  • Allie Hunter McDade, P.A.A.R.I. Executive Director, Boston
  • John Rosenthal, P.A.A.R.I. Co-Founder and Co-Chairman, Gloucester
  • Chief Frederick Ryan, P.A.A.R.I. Co-Chairman, Arlington

11 a.m. — Intake Programs 101

  • Lt. Jeremiah Nicastro, Gloucester
  • Chief Robbie Moulton, Scarborough, Maine
  • Sgt. Brittney Garrett, Jeffersontown, Kentucky
  • Katie Donovan, Hope Not Handcuffs, Macomb County, Michigan

Noon — Networking Lunch

12:30 p.m. — Outreach Programs 101

  • Chief Frederick Ryan, Arlington
  • Sgt. Mike Braley, Everett, Washington
  • Dan Cortez, Community Engagement Specialist, Chelsea
  • Kelly Pompilio, Police Social Worker, Alexandria, Kentucky
  • Chief Ed Walsh, Taunton

1:30 p.m. — How do we know this is working?

  • Dr. Davida Schiff, Massachusetts General Hospital
  • Sean Varano, Kelley Research Associates and Roger Williams University
  • Tomoko Udo, University of Albany School of Public Health
  • Capt. Dave Batchelor, Chelsea

2:15 p.m. — How do we include the recovery community?

  • Tito Rodriguez, P.A.A.R.I. Care Advocate & Outreach Worker, Gloucester
  • Cody Desmond, P.A.A.R.I. AmeriCorps Recovery Coach, Lynn
  • Steve Lesnikoski, P.A.A.R.I. Care Advocate & Outreach Worker, Essex County
  • Margie Taylor, P.A.A.R.I. AmeriCorps Program Coordinator, Burlington

3:15 p.m. — Spotlight on Essex County Sheriff’s Department

  • Sheriff Kevin Coppinger
  • Gary Barrett, Community Relations Coordinator
  • Darya Maslova, Assistant Director of Programs

3:45 p.m. — Closing Remarks from Chief Frederick Ryan

Wednesday, December 6

 

8:30 a.m. — Networking Breakfast

9 a.m. — Welcome from Chief Danny Langloss, P.A.A.R.I. Police Council Member, Dixon, Illinois

9:30 a.m. — Remarks from Gil Kerlikowske on criminal justice research on the opioid crisis

10 a.m. —  Remarks from Sarah Gordon Chiaramida, Massachusetts Association of Health Plans

10:15 a.m. —  How do we make an evidence-based treatment referral?

  • Dr. Alexander Walley, Boston Medical Center
  • Dr. Sarah Wakeman, Massachusetts General Hospital
  • Dr. Shorta Yuasa, Lahey Health Behavioral Services

11 a.m. — Spotlight on Plymouth County Outreach

  • Chief Scott Allen, East Bridgewater
  • Chief Michael Botieri, Plymouth
  • Lt. Richard Linehan, Brockton
  • Hillary Dubois Farquharson, Brockton Area Opioid Abuse Prevention Collaborative
  • Sarah Cloud,  Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

Noon — Networking Lunch

12:30 p.m. —  Spotlight on Anne Arundel Safe Stations

  • Maryland State’s Attorney Wes Adams
  • Lt. Steve Thomas
  • Jennifer Corbin, Director of Crisis Response

1:15 p.m. — How do we form behavioral health partnerships?

  • Chief Tom Bashore, Nashville, North Carolina
  • Amanda Flory, Social Worker, Nashville, North Carolina
  • Chief Robert Bongiorno, Bedford
  • Alia Toran-Burrell, Clinician, Central Middlesex County

2 p.m. — Spotlight on New England HIDTA

  • David Kelley, Deputy Director
  • Bryan Volpe, Drug Intelligence Officer, Rhode Island
  • Margaret Hester, Public Health Analyst
  • James Cormier, Drug Intelligence Officer

2:30 p.m. — How do I start a program in my community?

  • Chief Tim Lentz, Covington Louisiana
  • Chief Joseph Solomon, Methuen
  • Sergeant Pat Greenhill, Berea, Ohio
  • Captain Greg Skehan, Burlington

3:45 p.m. — Closing Remarks Chief Langloss and Chief Ryan

 

Quotes:

“The hundreds of law enforcement agencies that have joined P.A.A.R.I. in the fight against addiction have made a tremendous impact and saved numerous lives,” P.A.A.R.I. Co-Founder and Chairman John Rosenthal said. “This summit will give police leaders from communities large and small a chance to share ideas and learn from one another so that they can continue to build upon their success in the fight to end the opioid epidemic.”

“The Commonwealth of Massachusetts relies on the innovative techniques and strategies developed by our local law enforcement officials to fight against the opioid epidemic,” Gov. Charlie Baker said. “We are glad the Police Assisted Addiction and Recovery Initiative chose to host a summit focused on bringing the best and the brightest in law enforcement together and we look forward to the progress this group can help us make on prevention, intervention, treatment and recovery.”

“Law enforcement has played a critical role in responding to the nationwide opioid epidemic, and we understand that recovery happens in the community,” Chief Ryan said. “I am very encouraged by the projected turnout for the inaugural P.A.A.R.I. National Law Enforcement Summit, and I look forward to sharing our experiences and learning the best practices of my colleagues from around the nation.”

 

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