For Immediate Release

Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2015

Contact: John Guilfoil
Phone: 617-993-0003
Email: john@jgpr.net

Lee County Safe Passage Initiative Places Two People in Treatment on Day One

DIXON, Ill. — Tuesday is Day One for The Lee County Safe Passage Initiative: Police Giving Hope to Addicts Through the Tools For Recovery, an addiction recovery initiative modeled after the Gloucester, Mass. ANGEL Initiative, aimed at encouraging addicts to seek the help of police officers and sheriff’s deputies, who will in turn get them into treatment.

Already, two people suffering from the disease of addiction have been placed into treatment centers.

The two participants were aided by three “Safe Passage Guides,” volunteers who sit with the people who come to join the program.

One participant was placed in the Quad Cities program, and one was placed in a treatment center in Chicago.

“It is incredibly encouraging to see people coming forward, ready for help, and we are here to provide just that,” said Dixon Police Chief Danny Langloss. “This initiative is poised to do real good in our community.”

Chief Langloss and Lee County Sheriff John Simonton earlier this year collaborated with Safe Harbor of Lee County, as well as PRISM of Lee County, Lee County Health Department, Sinnissippi Centers, and KSB Hospital, State’s Attorney Anna Sacco-Miller, and A Man in Recovery Foundation of Naperville, Ill. to launch an addiction recovery forum.

“As public servants, we understand that we have a duty to help people, even if it is not by the traditional means associated with policing and law enforcement,” Sheriff Simonton said. “I am very pleased with the results so far.”

Those productive discussions eventually led local officials to reach out to the Gloucester Police Department for more information on the Gloucester ANGEL Initiative. While not identical, the Safe Passage Initiative is inspired by the groundbreaking ANGEL Initiative, in which the Gloucester Police Department directly places those suffering from addiction into treatment, rather than arresting people for simple possession charges.

Four additional participants came forward. asking for help before the program even began. They were placed in treatment last week. This means that, as of the end of business on day one, six people are on the road to recovery.

Several Guides have volunteered, and each of them come from Safe Harbor of Lee County, which has been a major partner and supporter of the program since the beginning.

One of today’s participants was referred through the newly formed Lee County Substance Abuse Hotline — 866-494-4431.

“This is a good day for Dixon and a good day for law enforcement. We have seen, again, that people want the police to help them and that they will come forward when given the resources,” said Gloucester Police Chief Leonard Campanello, who is also one of the founders of the Police Assisted Addiction and Recovery Initiative (P.A.A.R.I.). Lee County has partnered with P.A.A.R.I., which is supplying its roster of treatment center partners across the country and a $2,500 grant to help offset transportation costs incurred by the Safe Passage Initiative.

Continued Chief Campanello: “Oher agencies, healthcare providers, and government should be taking note. Lives are at stake, and people need help.”

About P.A.A.R.I.
P.A.A.R.I. was started to support local police departments as they work with opioid addicts. 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 the police department and opioid addicts seeking recovery.

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