police assisted addiction recovery initiative

*Media Advisory* P.A.A.R.I. to Host Fourth Anniversary Celebration and Awards Ceremony

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Tuesday, June 25, 2019

Media Contact: Kelsey Bode
Phone: 617-993-0003
Email: [email protected]

*Media Advisory*

P.A.A.R.I. to Host Fourth Anniversary Celebration and Awards Ceremony

U.S. Drug Czar James Carroll to Be Honored at Fourth Annual Event

GLOUCESTER — Police Assisted Addiction and Recovery Initiative (P.A.A.R.I.) is pleased to announce it will hold its Fourth Anniversary Celebration and Awards Ceremony this Wednesday, June 26.

The annual Anniversary Celebration and Awards Ceremony commemorates the founding of P.A.A.R.I. in June 2015, and recognizes law enforcement, government and community leaders who have played a role in fulfilling the organization’s mission to support the creation of law enforcement based non-arrest pathways and access to treatment and recovery.

WHEN: 

Wednesday, June 26 from 6-9 p.m.

WHERE: 

Gloucester House Restaurant, 63 Rogers St., Gloucester

WHAT: 

P.A.A.R.I. is inviting the public to join Wednesday’s celebration and recognize the work of its partners over the last four years to fight the opioid crisis. The celebration is also open to the media.

P.A.A.R.I. was founded in 2015 in concert with the Gloucester Police Department’s groundbreaking ANGEL Initiative, which reinvented the way law enforcement agencies confront addiction in their own communities by viewing it as a treatable disease rather than a crime, and that people suffering with opioid addiction need treatment, not jail.

With its network of more than 450 law enforcement partners, P.A.A.R.I. is providing access to treatment and working toward a collective vision where non-arrest diversion programs become a standard policing practice across the country. This law enforcement movement is reducing overdose deaths, expanding access to treatment, improving public safety, reducing crime, diverting people away from the criminal justice system, reducing stigma and increasing trust between law enforcement and their communities.

“For four years, P.A.A.R.I. has worked with our law enforcement partners to make tremendous strides in the fight against the opioid crisis,” Co-Founder and Chairman John Rosenthal said. “By supporting non-arrest diversion programs, increasing accessibility to treatment and recovery programming and resources, and supporting law enforcement agencies as they adopt these new effective approaches, we’ve been able to help more than 20,000 people access treatment and are changing the conversation and state and national policy around substance use. Thank you to all of our partners who are making this life-saving, important work possible.”

P.A.A.R.I. Executive Director Allie Hunter added, “We have the pleasure of working alongside an incredible range of law enforcement, government, recovery and community partners, and this celebration is always a great opportunity to thank them all for their support and commitment to fighting the opioid epidemic in new ways. It’s taking a lot of people, working together, to address the opioid crisis. This is an opportunity to celebrate our collective impact.”

“Four years ago, P.A.A.R.I. was founded out of a need to make a dramatic change in the way our law enforcement agencies and communities were responding to the opioid epidemic,” said P.A.A.R.I. Board Member and retired Arlington Police Chief Fred Ryan. “We’ve taken great strides since then, and will continue making new partnerships and undertaking new initiatives for as long as it takes. Thank you to all of our partners, who make this important work possible.”

Tickets can be purchased at the door or by clicking here. Tickets cost $30 for one person, and tickets for two people can be purchased for $50.

P.A.A.R.I. will honor several individuals and groups for their contributions to the effort to combat the opioid crisis, including the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy Director James Carroll, who will be in attendance at the event.

In addition, Stephenie Jesi Memorial Scholarship awards will be presented to five women in recovery who have been helped by P.A.A.R.I. partners.

Those confirmed to attend are marked by an asterisk below.

Law Enforcement Leadership

Boston Police Department (Massachusetts): Deputy Michael Stratton*, Lt. David Murphy*, Sgt. Peter Messina*, Officers Josh DeLisle*, Joshua De La Rosa*, and Daniel Harlow*

Chelsea Police Department (Massachusetts): Chief Brian Brian Kyes*, Capt. Dave Batchelor*, and Community Engagement Specialist Dan Cortez*

Gloucester Police Department (Massachusetts): Lt. Jeremiah Nicastro* and Sgt. Sean Conners*

Newton Police Department (New Jersey): Chief Michael Richards*

Anne Arundel County Police (Maryland): Lt. Steve Thomas and Crisis Response Director Jen Corbin

Government and Community Leadership

Boston Mayor Marty Walsh

Gloucester Mayor Sefatia Theken*

State Representative Marjorie Decker* (Massachusetts)

State Senator Bruce Tarr* (Massachusetts)

Gloucester Public Health Director, Karin Carroll*

Monica Bharel, Commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health*

Massachusetts Organization for Addiction Recovery (MOAR): Executive Director Maryanne Franguls* and Public Policy & Communications Director Jared Owen

Vicky Butler, Operations Supervisor, Plymouth County Outreach*

U.S. Drug Czar James Carroll, Director of the U.S. Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP)*

Stephenie Jesi Memorial Scholarship

Tiffany Hill*

Nicole Shettlesworth*

Bonita Carrasquillo

Kellyana Lopez*

Lyndsie Sova*

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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P.A.A.R.I. Receives $930,000 Grant from South Shore Health

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Wednesday, May 15, 2019

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

P.A.A.R.I. Receives $930,000 Grant from South Shore Health

Funding will Support Access to Behavioral Health Services in Plymouth County

PLYMOUTH — Police Assisted Addiction and Recovery Initiative (P.A.A.R.I.) Executive Director Allie Hunter is pleased to announce that P.A.A.R.I. has been awarded a $930,000 Integrative Behavioral Health grant by South Shore Health.

South Shore Health awarded $2.4 million to nonprofit groups this spring to support behavioral healthcare in Plymouth and Norfolk counties. P.A.A.R.I. was one of two nonprofit groups selected to receive a five-year grant for $930,000 this cycle.

The grant will support a new partnership between P.A.A.R.I. and Plymouth County Outreach (PCO), a collaborative of 28 police departments throughout the region. Over the next five years, P.A.A.R.I. will work with PCO to implement a “hub model” throughout the county to expand the behavioral health services available to the community, and coordinate outreach visits for individuals identified as being at acutely elevated risk due to substance use and/or mental health issues.

“This first-of-its-kind grant program through South Shore Health reflects our organization’s deep commitment to promoting good health within the community and by removing barriers to accessing behavioral healthcare for the most vulnerable among us,” said Gene E. Green, president and CEO of South Shore Health. “Congratulations to P.A.A.R.I. for being named a grantee. We are excited to see the impact this initiative will have in our communities.”

“P.A.A.R.I. has had many successful partnerships with PCO, and we are thrilled to embark on this latest initiative to support our local law enforcement partners to address behavioral health needs in Plymouth County,” Hunter said. “We are incredibly thankful that South Shore Health has chosen to support our plan to improve access to behavioral health services on the South Shore.”

“Behavioral health issues are a huge concern, and not just in Plymouth county– these issues are affecting communities everywhere,” said Plymouth Police Chief Michael Botieri, a member of the P.A.A.R.I. Law Enforcement Council. “We’re fortunate that this grant has been awarded to support behavioral health programming locally to help those who are struggling.”

The “hub model” aims to assist those struggling before they reach a crisis point, and to connect the community to a variety of much needed behavioral health services.

“We’ve seen great success with the hub model in communities like Chelsea, Lawrence and Boston, and are looking forward to putting in place a system that will connect those in need to additional services and support,” Hunter said. “This grant will allow us to address a wide umbrella of behavioral health issues in addition to substance use, including mental health concerns.”

“This is monumental as it will allow for PCO to spearhead an innovative Public Health 3.0 initiative –a first in the U.S.,” said Dr. Nate Horwitz-Willis, director of public health for the town of Plymouth. “This grant will help us address complex substance use challenges seen across our law enforcement, healthcare, and public health communities. We collaboratively look forward to addressing these challenges with best practices and scholarly evidence from all three fields that use primary, secondary, and tertiary equitable prevention approaches with a dynamic team of experts and leaders.”

“The time has come where we need to closer examine the crossover between drug addiction and mental health,” said Scituate Police Chief Michael Stewart. “We are all concerned with the rise in mental health cases.”

The grant will fund the hiring of a full time P.A.A.R.I. hub coordinator who will be based in Plymouth County for the next five years, and will oversee the program.

“Plymouth County Outreach is so fortunate and appreciative to partner with P.A.A.R.I. on expanding our county collaboration, bringing an Integrated Behavioral Health approach to our existing model,” said East Bridgewater Police Chief Scott Allen, a member of the P.A.A.R.I. Law Enforcement Council. “We can’t address substance use and mental health disorders in separate silos.”

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 465 police departments in 33 states.

We currently work with more than 120 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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*Media Advisory* P.A.A.R.I. and Gloucester Police to Provide Nasal Narcan Training to Commercial Fishermen

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PAARI_Logo_PUB_052815-06

P.A.A.R.I.
John Rosenthal, Co-founder & Chairman
One Bridge St., Suite #300
Newton, MA 02458

For Immediate Release

Thursday, March 30, 2017

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

*Media Advisory*

TOMORROW — P.A.A.R.I. and Gloucester Police to Provide Nasal Narcan Training to Commercial Fishermen

GLOUCESTER — John Rosenthal, Co-founder and Chairman of the Police Assisted Addiction and Recovery Initiative (P.A.A.R.I.), Allie Hunter McDade, Executive Director of P.A.A.R.I., Mayor Sefatia Romeo Theken and Police Chief John McCarthy are pleased to announce that the City of Gloucester, in conjunction with the Fishing Partnership Support Services, Gloucester Fishermen’s Wives Association and the Coast Guard, will offer CPR, first aid and nasal naloxone training to commercial fisherman tomorrow morning.

WHEN:

Friday, March 31 at 9 a.m.

WHERE:

Endicott College Gloucester, 33 Commercial St., Gloucester

WHAT:

Approximately 40 fishermen are attending the CPR/first aid course tomorrow, which will include a segment where they learn how to recognize and respond to an opioid overdose, including how to administer nasal Narcan, which will then become another staple instrument included in their first aid kits.

The training is part of a larger partnership between P.A.A.R.I. and Gloucester’s fishing community aimed at raising awareness on opioid addiction and providing vital nasal naloxone (Narcan) training to community members.

“Through community partnerships, we are working together to offer this important training to our industry workers, city employees and families,” Mayor Romeo Theken said. “I look forward to continuing the work we are doing to educate our community members.”

Additionally, the plan is for every commercial boat that is docked in Gloucester to have its owner, captain, and crew trained on how to use Narcan in the coming months. P.A.A.R.I. also hopes to reach other fishing communities to provide nasal naloxone training and education, and members are currently working with Fishing Partnership Support Services to explore potential projects in areas like Plymouth, New Bedford, Chatham and Kennebunkport, Maine.

“Although P.A.A.R.I. has grown into a national movement, our roots are in Gloucester, a community famous for its fishing industry,” Hunter McDade said. “Without nasal naloxone on hand, an opioid overdose at sea would almost certainly be fatal. This new partnership will ensure that Gloucester’s fishermen and every commercial fishing boat based in Gloucester will have lifesaving nasal naloxone in their first aid kit.”

A few weeks ago, a fisherman overdosed on a docked boat. Two Gloucester police officers responded to the scene and were able to revive the man using three of the 2-mg nasal naloxone doses.

“Any overdose that occurred at sea would most likely be fatal, as there would not be enough time for the Coast Guard or a Gloucester first responder to arrive in time to revive that person,” Chief McCarthy said. “This is why it is imperative that all members of a crew are trained on how to use this lifesaving opioid reversal drug.”

Approximately 50 kits, each with two 4-mg doses of Narcan, are being provided by P.A.A.R.I. through a donation from Adapt Pharma, will be distributed at the training.

“The opioid epidemic is hitting our coastal communities hard. As usual, it’s even more deadly for fishermen because ambulances don’t go where fishermen fish,” said J.J. Bartlett, President, Fishing Partnership Support Services. “We are pleased to announce a partnership with P.A.A.R.I. and the City of Gloucester and to include Narcan training in all CPR/first aid courses from this point forward.”

P.A.A.R.I. is also planning to host a follow-up event in the coming months to train additional Gloucester fishermen, captains and boat owners.

“We know that opioid addiction affects all aspects of a city or town, and we’re happy to be partnering with yet another group in the Gloucester community to ensure that more people are trained on how to use Narcan,” Rosenthal said. “Given this nation’s current opioid epidemic, Narcan has become a critical tool in first aid. The more people we can train on using nasal naloxone, the more lives we can save.”

“While the circumstances of this program reveal how widespread the opioid epidemic is, we are inspired by the proactive and thoughtful work being done by PAARI and the Gloucester Police Department,” said Thom Duddy – Executive Director of Communications at Adapt Pharma. “This program enables community members to identify potential overdose scenarios and prepare for an effective overdose reversal response, especially in situations where emergency responders are unavailable, too far away or unreachable and a friend, colleague or family member assumes the role of first responder.”

“The more community members trained and equipped with potentially life-saving tools like NARCAN® Nasal Spray, the more we will be able to prepare for overdose scenarios in a range of personal and professional settings, such as boating and fishing.”

WHO:

  • John Rosenthal, Co-founder and Chairman of P.A.A.R.I.
  • Allie Hunter McDade, Executive Director of P.A.A.R.I.
  • Mayor Sefatia Romeo Theken
  • Police Chief John McCarthy
  • Kathy Day, approved Massachusetts Department of Public Health naloxone Trainer
  • Representatives from the Fishing Partnership Support Services
  • Members of the Coast Guard
  • The Fishermen’s Wives Association

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La Porte City, Ind. Police Department Joins P.A.A.R.I. To Launch Addiction Recovery Initiative

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For Immediate Release

Tuesday, May 10, 2016

Contact: John Guilfoil
Phone: 781-791-7627
Email: [email protected]

La Porte City, Ind. Police Department Joins P.A.A.R.I. To Launch Addiction Recovery Initiative

LA PORTE, Ind. – Chief Adam Klimczak announces that the La Porte City Police Department has partnered with the Police Assisted Addiction and Recovery Initiative (P.A.A.R.I.) to expand the department’s addiction recovery program, the La Porte County Angel Initiative.

The department officially launched its program on April 21, modeling it after the Gloucester ANGEL Initiative. The La Porte County Angel Initiative encourages residents who want to overcome their addiction to simply walk into the police station, turn over their drugs and paraphernalia and ask for help. Those who do this will not be charged. Instead, they will be placed into a drug treatment program regardless of their financial means or insurance coverage. Program participants will be assigned a volunteer “angel” who will help guide and support them on their road to recovery.

“We are honored to partner alongside so many forward thinking law enforcement agencies in an effort to save lives and destigmatize the disease of addiction,” Chief Klimczak said. “Our department is eager to continue working with P.A.A.R.I. and our local partners to provide treatment options to those in our community who suffer from addiction.”

Joining with P.A.A.R.I. will give the La Porte City Police Department access to a nationwide network of treatment centers to offer recovery services to program participants. Additionally, La Porte City Police have also partnered with the La Porte Hospital and the Swanson Center to further their department’s initiative and educate residents about the resources that are available within their community.

Chief Campanello and John Rosenthal, co-founders of P.A.A.R.I., are pleased to welcome the La Porte City Police Department to the growing list of law enforcement partners who have committed themselves to bridging the gap between police departments and those who suffer from the disease of addiction. They commend Chief Klimczak and his staff for taking the necessary steps to help those who are suffering from addiction and for working to change the way law enforcement handles this devastating disease.

About P.A.A.R.I.

P.A.A.R.I. was started to support local police departments as they work with those struggling with the disease of addiction. Rather than arrest our way out of the problem of drug addiction, P.A.A.R.I. committed police departments:

  • Encourage opioid drug users to seek recovery
  • Help distribute life saving opioid blocking drugs to prevent and treat overdoses
  • Connect people suffering with opioid addiction with treatment programs and facilities
  • Provide resources to other police departments and communities that want to do more to fight the opioid addiction epidemic

P.A.A.R.I. was created by Gloucester Police Chief Leonard Campanello and John Rosenthal to bridge the gap between police departments and those struggling with the disease of addiction. Since its founding, police departments in 24 states have joined as partners with the initiative.

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