*Media Advisory* Six Maine and New Hampshire Police Departments to Partner with PAARI to Launch Addiction Recovery Initiative

For Immediate Release

Tuesday, May 31, 2016

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

Media Advisory
Six Maine and New Hampshire Police Departments to Partner with PAARI to Launch Addiction Recovery Initiative

PORTSMOUTH, N.H. — A half dozen police departments in Strafford and Rockingham Counties in New Hampshire and York County, Maine will announce tomorrow plans to launch the Community Access to Recovery (CAR) program.

Through the CAR program, the police departments will partner with the Police Assisted Addiction and Recovery Initiative (P.A.A.R.I.) to open the doors of their police stations to those suffering from the disease of addiction to come and seek placement into treatment.

The departments have set intake hours from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday-Friday and have worked with P.A.A.R.I. and local partners to create a brief intake process, conducted by a police officer, who will then provide or ensure transportation to the nearest hospital or recovery program that is participating in the CAR program.

A trained recovery coach will meet each participant at their destination to help navigate treatment options and recovery support systems. The program is designed to help communities address the local side of the nationwide opioid crisis by connecting individuals to resources and learn about treatment options.

Program partners at launch include:

Eliot, Maine Police
York, Maine Police
Kittery, Maine Police
Portsmouth, N.H. Police
Dover, N.H. Police
Newmarket, N.H. Police
Wentworth-Douglass Hospital
York Hospital
Portsmouth Regional Hospital
Frisbie Memorial Hospital
Safe Harbor Recovery center

The press conference will announce the program to the public and discuss opportunities for the community to engage in making the program a success.

The CAR program is modeled on the Gloucester, Mass. Police Department ANGEL Initiative and the Scarborough, Maine Operation HOPE program. Gloucester Police Chief Leonard Campanello and Massachusetts businessman John Rosenthal teamed up to create P.A.A.R.I. last June, to help spread the message of recovery to other police departments. The Scarborough Police Department was one of the organization’s first partners.

Rosenthal will be on hand for tomorrow’s event in Portsmouth.