SCHENECTADY, NY September 23, 2024 – The Police Assisted Addiction and Recovery Initiative (PAARI) is pleased to announce its latest Partner Spotlight Series webinar, featuring the Schenectady Police Department. This monthly series shines a light on outstanding PAARI partners, and for September, Schenectady PD’s deflection initiatives will take center stage.
The virtual event, scheduled for September 24, will feature key members of the Schenectady PD team, including Lieutenant Ryan Macherone, Sergeant Nick Mannix, Dual Recovery Coordinator Jennifer Hayden, and Adult Behavioral Health Coordinator Michelle Cejka. Each will share their expertise and insights from the innovative programs they’ve developed to address substance use and mental health in their community.
In 2019, Schenectady PD teamed up with PAARI and local nonprofits to launch the Schenectady Cares Program—a harm reduction initiative offering those affected by substance use disorder immediate access to services. In 2021, Lt. Macherone and team expanded the initiative by adding a post-overdose outreach component, which has referred services to over 1,100 individuals. Most recently, in late 2022, the department partnered with the Schenectady County Office of Community Services to create the Schenectady County Outreach HUB, a resource hub designed to assist at-risk individuals.
“As long-standing PAARI partners, my team and I are excited to share the work we’ve been doing in Schenectady County over the past several years. We look forward to engaging with like-minded law enforcement agencies and discussing the impact of our efforts,” said Lt. Macherone.
In addition to Lt. Macherone, the event will feature other key team members who have played roles in the success of these initiatives:
- Sgt. Mannix is a 12-year veteran of the Schenectady Police Department and is one of the founding members in the Schenectady Cares Program and the Schenectady County Outreach Hub. His training includes the Schenectady Emotionally Disturbed Person Response Team, Instructor Development School, and Peer Support Team among others.
- Michelle Cejka is the Adult Behavioral Health Coordinator for Schenectady County since October of 2016. She has created and currently oversees many initiatives within Schenectady County that assist individuals to accessing any level of care needed within the mental health and substance use disorder field.
- Jennifer Hayden has been the Dual Recovery Coordinator of the Schenectady County Public Health Office of Community Services for the past six years. She is a licensed mental health therapist and certified substance use counselor. She is the co-organizer of the Schenectady County Substance Use and Overdose Coalition.
The presentation will cover the culmination of these efforts, sharing lessons learned and successes achieved.
“Schenectady Police Department has been a standout PAARI partner since we first began working with them in 2019. We are thrilled to showcase their incredible work during this month’s Partner Spotlight,” said Zoe Grover, Executive Director of PAARI.
To sign up to attend the Partner Spotlight Series presentation, please visit paariusa.org.
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ABOUT PAARI: The Police Assisted Addiction & Recovery Initiative (PAARI) is a nonprofit organization with a mission to help law enforcement agencies nationwide create deflection programs (I.e.non-arrest pathways to treatment and recovery). Founded alongside the groundbreaking Gloucester, Mass., Police Department Angel Initiative in June 2015, PAARI has been a driving force behind this rapidly expanding community policing movement. We provide technical assistance, strategic guidance, connection to training resources, and other capacity-building resources to more than 700 police departments in 46 states.
PAARI works with more than 160 law enforcement agencies in Massachusetts alone. PAARI and our law enforcement partners are working towards a collective vision where non-arrest diversion and deflection 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 tens of thousands of lives, changed police culture, and reshaped the national conversation about the opioid epidemic since its founding in June 2015. Learn more at paariusa.org.
ABOUT SCHENECTADY PD: The members of the Schenectady Police Department are committed to reducing crime through effective implementation of crime prevention and intelligence driven policing strategies. They tenaciously investigate crimes when they occur to ensure the expeditious arrest and effective prosecution of criminal offenders. They deliver the highest quality of police service possible, working in partnership with the community, and within the framework of the U.S. and N.Y.S. Constitutions.
