The Watertown Police Department, a P.A.A.R.I. partner since October 2015, is pleased to announce that the department’s Free Community Narcan Distribution Program has aided in saving a young woman’s life this past weekend. To create the program, the department opened an account with the pharmaceutical company to ensure Watertown residents are able to obtain Narcan at no cost.

Watertown Police have recently confirmed the first save as a result of the program – a local mother who administered Narcan to save her 30-year-old daughter. That young woman is alive and now receiving medical treatment. In the past few weeks, several families have taken advantage of the free Narcan program.

Watertown has created their own Gloucester-style addiction initiative in an effort to fight opioid addiction in their community. Last year, the department implemented a Nasal Narcan program and successfully used the drug on multiple occasions to save the lives of people who have overdosed on heroin and other opioids. As part of their recovery initiatives, all members of the police department are trained on how best to respond to situations involving those suffering from addiction. Collaborating with Advocates’ Jail Diversion Program, Watertown Police hired a full-time clinician who will work with officers to get people the help they need.