Police Assisted Addiction and Recovery Initiative

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

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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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P.A.A.R.I. Announces New Partnership With Morris County Sheriff’s Hope One Program

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Wednesday, April 3, 2019

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

 

P.A.A.R.I. Announces New Partnership With Morris County Sheriff’s Hope One Program

PARSIPPANY, N.J. — Executive Director Allie Hunter is pleased to announce that the Police Assisted Addiction and Recovery Initiative (P.A.A.R.I.) has partnered with law enforcement agencies in Morris County, New Jersey.

The new partnership brings together P.A.A.R.I., The Morris County Sheriff’s and Prosecutor’s Offices and the Sheriff’s Hope One program. It will ultimately help expand services to those seeking recovery resources in Morris County. Working together, P.A.A.R.I. and Hope One will be positioned to connect individuals proactively seeking treatment for life-threatening substance use disorders with certified peer recovery specialists.

The Morris County Sheriff’s Office is the first law enforcement agency in Morris County to partner with P.A.A.R.I. It is also the only sheriff’s office in New Jersey to adopt P.A.A.R.I.’s model, which relies on close collaboration among police and nonprofit agencies to help ease the barriers to recovery for those seeking help overcoming their battle with opioids.

“We are delighted to be present as the Morris County Sheriff’s Office joins P.A.A.R.I. and launches the Hope One-P.A.A.R.I Program. They are joining a growing movement of nearly 500 law enforcement agencies nationwide that are using non-arrest strategies to address the mounting opioid epidemic,” said Hunter, who attended an event today formally announcing the partnership. “As we have seen with other P.A.A.R.I. initiatives across the country, this program will create a pathways to treatment and recovery, which will ultimately prevent overdose deaths and improve community safety and wellbeing. We are grateful to all the partners involved for the dedication and leadership, and we are thrilled to have the Morris County Sheriff’s Office as partners in this important effort.”

The Hope One-P.A.A.R.I. partnership was made possible through a $332,658 grant from the U.S. Department of Justice that was awarded to the Morris County Sheriff’s Office to expand its Hope One mobile substance recovery and resource vehicle program.

Under the initiative, individuals can come to a police station without fear of arrest or prosecution and they will be assisted into a recovery program. Separately, police officers can use their discretion in approaching individuals they encounter on the street to determine whether they are open to meeting with a peer recovery specialist.

“With opioid and heroin addiction consuming the lives of family members, neighbors, classmates and friends, and often leading them to break the law to finance their addictions, we all have a stake as human beings to try to stop the scourge,” Morris County Sheriff James M. Gannon said. “Police officers who are familiar with vulnerable populations in their communities are well-suited to start the process of helping people connect with treatment services in a compassionate, non-judgmental style.”

On April 3, about 50 police chiefs and officers from 20 municipal police departments around Morris County participated in four hours of instruction and training for the new P.A.A.R.I. partnership, at Morris County’s Public Safety Training Academy in Parsippany, N.J.. Police chiefs and superior officers from the Butler, Mount Olive, Montville, Dover and Morristown Police Departments are part of an advisory group that met in February to plan the P.A.A.R.I. launch.

“The PAARI program helps local law enforcement tremendously because it delivers certified peer recovery specialists out to meet directly with the person who is suffering from addiction, either on the street or right in our municipal police stations. As a result, we can offer real help,” said Butler Police Chief Ciro Chimento.

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 440 police departments in 32 states.

We currently work with more than 100 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.

 

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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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Five P.A.A.R.I. Recovery Coaches Join Boston Police Department through AmeriCorps Program

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PAARI_Logo_PUB_052815-06

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

For Immediate Release

Monday, June 11, 2018

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

Five P.A.A.R.I. Recovery Coaches Join Boston Police Department through AmeriCorps Program

GLOUCESTER — Executive Director Allie Hunter McDade is pleased to announce that five Police Assisted Addiction and Recovery Initiative (P.A.A.R.I.) recovery coaches have been sworn in as AmeriCorps members to contribute to the Boston Police Department’s addiction and recovery efforts.

Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh held an official swearing in of P.A.A.R.I.’s Anita Cunha, Steve Jutras, Tyshaun Perryman, Ursel Hughes and Cheryl Molloy-Emerson as part of the 86th annual meeting of the United States Conference of Mayors on Sunday, June 10. The ceremony marked Mayor Walsh’s first time swearing in a group of AmeriCorps members.

“I’m grateful for the P.A.A.R.I. recovery coaches, who will work closely with our police officers, to fight the opioid epidemic by enhancing direct outreach and getting more people into treatment and on the road to recovery,” Mayor Walsh said. “All of us have a role to play in addressing the opioid epidemic, and as our first responders are on the front lines of answering the call for help, it’s our responsibility to ensure they are equipped with the tools and resources to best support those in need of care. This partnership with P.A.A.R.I. and AmeriCorps will strengthen our work as we continue to implement solutions that will make a real difference.”

During the meeting, where mayors from around the country were in attendance, the P.A.A.R.I.-AmeriCorps program was highlighted as a best practice. The program places members into service at host police department sites across Massachusetts to assist with municipal police-led addiction and recovery programs in direct response to the growing opioid epidemic.

“The opioid epidemic is the most pressing public health and public safety issue affecting our communities, with an estimated 174 fatal overdoses every single day,” Hunter McDade said during the U.S. Conference of Mayors. “So both at the local and federal level, there is an emphasis on leveraging national service programs, such as AmeriCorps, to address it.”

P.A.A.R.I. currently has a team of 22 members who are serving 53 communities across Massachusetts where they help build the capacity of law enforcement programs, prevent overdose deaths, and provide vital resources to community members with substance use disorders and their loved ones. Since October 2017, the team of P.A.A.R.I-AmeriCorps members have provided support to 3,057 unique individuals affected by a substance use disorder.

P.A.A.R.I. Co-founder John Rosenthal, who attended the ceremony and meeting, stressed the importance of communities implementing a pre-arrest program to assist those struggling with addiction while also working with volunteer organizations like AmeriCorps to provide related services to those in need.

“Thank you Mayor Marty Walsh for making the opioid epidemic a priority and for demonstrating your commitment by highlighting our partnership today,” Rosenthal said Sunday.

With the Boston Police Department, P.A.A.R.I.’s five recovery coaches will:

  • Assist individuals struggling with substance use disorders as they make referrals to treatment, navigate and remove barriers to recovery support services, and provide hope, optimism and encouragement.
  • Connect community members with substance use disorders, or those who have loved ones struggling with addiction, to recovery services.
  • Work across city agencies — like the Mayor’s Office of Recovery Services, Boston public libraries and the Boston Public Health Commission — as well as treatment providers, hospitals, neighborhood associations and organizations providing related services to assist those affected by opioid addiction.
  • Travel to neighborhoods where residents have less access to recovery services. All of the recovery coaches are personally in recovery and have direct experience navigating local treatment and recovery supports.

“We are so proud to partner with P.A.A.R.I. on this innovative, groundbreaking AmeriCorps program,” said Emily Haber, CEO of the Massachusetts Service Alliance, which provides funding to the project. “P.A.A.R.I.-AmeriCorps is a strong model for engaging the power of national service to address the devastating opioid crisis in Massachusetts and across the nation.”

The five P.A.A.R.I AmeriCorps members join more than 1,200 AmeriCorps and Senior Corps members combating the opioid epidemic in more than 150 communities across 45 states. This is thanks to support from the Corporation for National and Community Service, the federal agency that oversees these national service programs.

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