John Rosenthal, Co-founder & Chairman
One Bridge St., Suite #300
Newton, MA 02458
For Immediate Release
Monday, Oct. 3, 2016
Media Contact: John Guilfoil
Phone: 617-993-0003
Email: john@jgpr.net
BEREA, Ohio — Berea Police Chief Joe Grecol and Olmsted Township Police Chief Matthew Vanyo are pleased to announce that they have partnered with the Police Assisted Addiction and Recovery Initiative (P.A.A.R.I.) to begin their addiction recovery program, Safe Passages, which will launch at the Cuyahoga County Rally Against Heroin next weekend.
WHEN
Saturday, Oct. 8 from 2-6 p.m.
WHERE
Coe Lake Park, 11 Berea Commons (located behind the Berea Police Station)
WHO
- Berea Police Department
- Olmsted Police Department
- P.A.A.R.I. Executive Director Allie Hunter McDade
- Major hospital systems
- Area treatment centers
WHAT
The Cuyahoga County Rally Against Heroin will serve as the launch of Safe Passages, a program designed to allow law enforcement agencies to facilitate entry into treatment for people suffering from the disease of heroin/opioid addiction.
According to a recent article announcing the launch of Safe Passages, since the beginning of the year, Cuyahoga County lost 250 residents due to drug overdose deaths and is on track to lose 500 or more to overdoses by the end of 2016.
Major hospital systems, treatment centers from the Northeast Ohio area and support groups will be in attendance to join police and advocates to provide information about their services.
The rally will be used as a fundraiser for Airfare4Addicts, a GoFundMe page used to assist indigent program participants with travel expenses. T-shirts and wristbands will be available for purchase, as well as a raffle of merchandise provided by the Cleveland Browns. There will be a stunt motorcycle performance by Ride4Life, live music provided by my Manic Episode, Boca Loca Burrito food truck and a series of guest speakers, including PAARI Executive Director Allie Hunter McDade and Rebecca Wolfe, Clinical Co-Responder for the Arlington, Mass. police department.
The event is free and open to the public.
For more information, please contact Sgt. Patrick Greenhill of the Berea Police Department at 440-274-5009 or pgreenhill@bereapolice.org.
About P.A.A.R.I.
The Police Assisted Addiction and Recovery Initiative (P.A.A.R.I.) was launched to support police departments around the nation as they work to help those suffering from the disease of addiction. The United States faces a nationwide heroin and opioid epidemic, with more people now dying from overdoses than from car accidents in this country. 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 those struggling with the disease of addiction to 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.
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