FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Isabella Nowak, PAARI Public Relations – isabella@paariusa.org
Cayce, SC – April 28, 2025 – The Police Assisted Addiction and Recovery Initiative (PAARI) is proud to announce the next installment in its Partner Spotlight webinar series. This month’s event will feature Battalion Chief Lindsay McDade of the Cayce Fire Department in South Carolina, scheduled for Tuesday, March 29 at 3:00 p.m. EST.
Battalion Chief Lindsay McDade is an eleven-year veteran of the fire service and currently serves as the Community Risk Reduction Manager. In this role, she oversees the post-overdose follow-up program, which includes peer support, drug take-back events, naloxone leave-behind initiatives, and data collection efforts. Most notably, she leads community outreach focused on drug awareness messaging alongside Muffin the Therapy Horse. McDade also spearheads the Therapeutic Equine Activities (TEA) program, which supports individuals in recovery through equine-assisted therapy. She is deeply committed to helping her community address the opioid crisis and promoting first responder wellness.
Tuesday’s webinar will highlight these innovative programs and offer insight into how McDade and the Cayce Fire Department are making a difference in their community.
“I am looking forward to presenting the work we’ve done here in Cayce,” said Battalion Chief McDade. “It’s an honor to collaborate with PAARI and to share our approach with other communities working to combat the opioid crisis.”
“We’re thrilled to spotlight the work that Lindsay and the Cayce Fire Department are doing,” said Brittney Garrett, PAARI’s Senior Director of Public Safety Strategy and Engagement. “Their creative, compassionate strategies offer a fresh perspective on addressing addiction and recovery, and we hope their story inspires others across our network.”
To register for the Partner Spotlight presentation, please visit the registration page HERE.
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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 800 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 CAYCE FD: The Cayce Fire Department is a full time, career fire department located in Cayce, South Carolina. The department is comprised of 24 sworn, full-time employees staffing one fire station, 24-hours a day, 365 days a year.
Originally established in 1936, the Fire Department has grown from a volunteer organization to a full-time paid staff department. In the early 1980s, the Cayce Fire Department was integrated with the police department to form the Cayce Department of Public Safety. This allowed for Firefighters and Police Officers to have dual training in police and fire operations. Learn more at caycefire.com
