For Immediate Release

Thursday, Jan. 12, 2017

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

Macomb County, Mich. Police Departments Join P.A.A.R.I. to Expand Addiction Recovery Services

GLOUCESTER — John Rosenthal, Co-founder and Chairman of the Police Assisted Addiction and Recovery Initiative (P.A.A.R.I.), and Executive Director Allie Hunter McDade are pleased to announce that every police department, including the Sheriff’s Department, in Macomb County, Mich. have joined P.A.A.R.I. to launch an expansive countywide addiction recovery program on Feb. 1.

Macomb County is the largest county in Michigan. Police departments throughout the county will implement a Gloucester Police type Angel Program to assist those with substance use disorders, following the model Michigan State Police at the Gaylord Post began earlier this year after joining P.A.A.R.I.

Starting Feb. 1, partner police departments will welcome those struggling with opioid addiction into their stations to work with Angel volunteers to be placed into a treatment and recovery program.

Additionally, police will collaborate with the state’s nonprofit organization, Families Against Narcotics (FAN), which began “Hope Not Handcuffs” — a collaborative effort between FAN, Macomb County police departments, Medstar EMS, Macomb County Office of Substance Abuse, CARE of Southeastern Michigan and Operation RX — to help those struggling with the disease of addiction.

Participating police departments include:

• Macomb Community College Police
• Armada Police Department
• Eastpointe Police Department
• Richmond Police Department
• Roseville Police Department
• Sterling Heights Police Department
• Utica Police Department
• Warren Police Department
• Center Line Public Safety Department
• Chesterfield Police Department
• Clinton Township Police Department
• Fraser Public Safety Department
• Macomb County Sheriff’s Office
• New Baltimore Police Department
• Romeo Village Police Department
• Shelby Township Police Department
• St. Clair Shores Police Department
• Michigan State Police, Metro North Post

Additionally, the Harper Woods Department of Public Safety in Wayne County is joining the initiative. 

“We only just visited Macomb County in early December 2016, and we’re so pleased that every single police department in the county has joined P.A.A.R.I. and the Michigan State Police to provide much needed access to opioid addiction treatment,” Rosenthal said. “Now, residents struggling with the disease of addiction will be able to walk into any police department in Michigan’s largest county and receive access to treatment. Macomb County is the latest example of how law enforcement agencies across the country are leading the way in providing access to opioid addiction treatment.”

To help with the startup of Angel programs, P.A.A.R.I. will provide free doses of 4 mg nasal Narcan to partner police departments and the Sheriff’s Office in Macomb County. As members of P.A.A.R.I., Macomb County police will also have access to a nationwide network of treatment centers to offer recovery services to program participants.

About the Police Assisted Addiction and Recovery Initiative (P.A.A.R.I.):

P.A.A.R.I. police departments share a common mission: 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 with treatment programs and facilities and provide resources to other police departments and communities that want to do more to fight the opioid epidemic.

P.A.A.R.I. is an independent nonprofit organization that supports law enforcement agencies in setting up, communicating and running their own addiction and recovery programs. The police departments, sheriffs offices, and prosecutors who have partnered with P.A.A.R.I. interact directly with members of the public and those seeking treatment, recovery, and resources. Learn more at paariusa.org.

###