Today marks the launch of our Recovery Coach program with the Essex County Sheriff’s Department. 

The risk of opioid overdose death following incarceration is 56 times higher than for the general public and the first month is someone is released is when they are most at risk for fatal overdose. Contributing factors are social isolation that may cause someone to use alone, lowered tolerance due to a period of abstinence, and the higher strength and variation in content of available drugs as compared to available drugs before incarceration.

Starting today, we will have two PAARI Recovery Coaches embedded at the Essex County Correctional Facility and the Essex County Pre-Release and Re-Entry Centers. 

Victoria Kiarsis and Steve Lesnikoski, PAARI Staff Members and Recovery Coaches, will be a vital asset to provide support to individuals with substance use disorders, especially as they re-enter the community after incarceration.

We are grateful to Sheriff Coppinger and the Essex County Sheriff’s Department for their commitment to this issue and to the Evelyn Lilly Lutz Foundation for providing the financial support to launch this vital and life-saving program.

Read the original partnership program announcement here.