U.S. Drug Czar James Carroll to Be Honored at Fourth Annual Event

GLOUCESTER — Police Assisted Addiction and Recovery Initiative (P.A.A.R.I.) is pleased to announce it will hold its Fourth Anniversary Celebration and Awards Ceremony this Wednesday, June 26.

The annual Anniversary Celebration and Awards Ceremony commemorates the founding of P.A.A.R.I. in June 2015, and recognizes law enforcement, government and community leaders who have played a role in fulfilling the organization’s mission to support the creation of law enforcement based non-arrest pathways and access to treatment and recovery.

WHEN: 

Wednesday, June 26 from 6-9 p.m.

WHERE: 

Gloucester House Restaurant, 63 Rogers St., Gloucester

WHAT: 

P.A.A.R.I. is inviting the public to join Wednesday’s celebration and recognize the work of its partners over the last four years to fight the opioid crisis. The celebration is also open to the media.

P.A.A.R.I. was founded in 2015 in concert with the Gloucester Police Department’s groundbreaking ANGEL Initiative, which reinvented the way law enforcement agencies confront addiction in their own communities by viewing it as a treatable disease rather than a crime, and that people suffering with opioid addiction need treatment, not jail.

With its network of more than 450 law enforcement partners, P.A.A.R.I. is providing access to treatment and working toward a collective vision where non-arrest diversion programs become a standard policing practice across the country. This law enforcement movement is reducing overdose deaths, expanding access to treatment, improving public safety, reducing crime, diverting people away from the criminal justice system, reducing stigma and increasing trust between law enforcement and their communities.

“For four years, P.A.A.R.I. has worked with our law enforcement partners to make tremendous strides in the fight against the opioid crisis,” Co-Founder and Chairman John Rosenthal said. “By supporting non-arrest diversion programs, increasing accessibility to treatment and recovery programming and resources, and supporting law enforcement agencies as they adopt these new effective approaches, we’ve been able to help more than 20,000 people access treatment and are changing the conversation and state and national policy around substance use. Thank you to all of our partners who are making this life-saving, important work possible.”

P.A.A.R.I. Executive Director Allie Hunter added, “We have the pleasure of working alongside an incredible range of law enforcement, government, recovery and community partners, and this celebration is always a great opportunity to thank them all for their support and commitment to fighting the opioid epidemic in new ways. It’s taking a lot of people, working together, to address the opioid crisis. This is an opportunity to celebrate our collective impact.”

“Four years ago, P.A.A.R.I. was founded out of a need to make a dramatic change in the way our law enforcement agencies and communities were responding to the opioid epidemic,” said P.A.A.R.I. Board Member and retired Arlington Police Chief Fred Ryan. “We’ve taken great strides since then, and will continue making new partnerships and undertaking new initiatives for as long as it takes. Thank you to all of our partners, who make this important work possible.”

Tickets can be purchased at the door or by clicking here. Tickets cost $30 for one person, and tickets for two people can be purchased for $50.

P.A.A.R.I. will honor several individuals and groups for their contributions to the effort to combat the opioid crisis, including the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy Director James Carroll, who will be in attendance at the event.

In addition, Stephenie Jesi Memorial Scholarship awards will be presented to five women in recovery who have been helped by P.A.A.R.I. partners.

Those confirmed to attend are marked by an asterisk below.

Law Enforcement Leadership

Boston Police Department (Massachusetts): Deputy Michael Stratton*, Lt. David Murphy*, Sgt. Peter Messina*, Officers Josh DeLisle*, Joshua De La Rosa*, and Daniel Harlow*

Chelsea Police Department (Massachusetts): Chief Brian Brian Kyes*, Capt. Dave Batchelor*, and Community Engagement Specialist Dan Cortez*

Gloucester Police Department (Massachusetts): Lt. Jeremiah Nicastro* and Sgt. Sean Conners*

Newton Police Department (New Jersey): Chief Michael Richards*

Anne Arundel County Police (Maryland): Lt. Steve Thomas and Crisis Response Director Jen Corbin

Government and Community Leadership

Boston Mayor Marty Walsh

Gloucester Mayor Sefatia Theken*

State Representative Marjorie Decker* (Massachusetts)

State Senator Bruce Tarr* (Massachusetts)

Gloucester Public Health Director, Karin Carroll*

Monica Bharel, Commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health*

Massachusetts Organization for Addiction Recovery (MOAR): Executive Director Maryanne Franguls* and Public Policy & Communications Director Jared Owen

Vicky Butler, Operations Supervisor, Plymouth County Outreach*

U.S. Drug Czar James Carroll, Director of the U.S. Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP)*

Stephenie Jesi Memorial Scholarship

Tiffany Hill*

Nicole Shettlesworth*

Bonita Carrasquillo

Kellyana Lopez*

Lyndsie Sova*

About P.A.A.R.I.

The Police Assisted Addiction & Recovery Initiative (P.A.A.R.I) is a nonprofit organization with a mission to help law enforcement agencies nationwide create non-arrest pathways to treatment and recovery. Founded alongside the groundbreaking Gloucester Police Department Angel Initiative in June 2015, P.A.A.R.I. has been a driving force behind this rapidly expanding community policing movement. We provide technical assistance, coaching, grants, and other capacity-building resources to more than 450 police departments in 33 states. P.A.A.R.I. and our law enforcement partners are working towards a collective vision where non-arrest diversion programs become a standard policing practice across the country, thereby reducing overdose deaths, expanding access to treatment, improving public safety, reducing crime, diverting people away from the criminal justice system, and increasing trust between law enforcement and their communities. Our programs and partners have saved thousands of lives, changed police culture, and reshaped the national conversation about the opioid epidemic. Learn more at www.paariusa.org.

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