Why do you want to be a PAARI Pro?
“The intersection of policing and public health has always been an area that has interested me. Today, the ability to find solutions to issues, without arrest, that are healthier for the individual and mutually beneficial for the community has become more important than ever. As this movement continues to build momentum, largely due to the work that PAARI is doing, I would be honored to join in these efforts.”
About:
Ryan Macherone began with the Schenectady Police Department in July 2007, after returning to the Capital Region from Boston, Massachusetts. In 2010, he was promoted to the rank of Sergeant in the department’s patrol division, before being selected as the Detective Sergeant of Internal Affairs in 2011. In 2016, Ryan was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant, and in 2019 began to lead the department’s Office of Neighborhood Engagement. Later that year, he partnered with the Police Assisted Addiction and Recovery Initiative (PAARI), the Schenectady County Office of Community Services, New Choices Recovery Center, and Catholic Charities to form the Schenectady Cares Program. Through this unique, harm reduction-based initiative, those living with a substance use disorder can walk into the Schenectady Police Department and connect to services ranging from access to safe syringes to inpatient treatment. In 2021, Lieutenant Macherone again worked with these partners to create a post-overdose outreach component of Schenectady Cares, which has engaged over 1,100 individuals since its inception. Finally, in late 2022, Lieutenant Macherone and the Office of Neighborhood Engagement joined with the Schenectady County Office of Community Services to launch the Schenectady County Outreach HUB, aimed at helping those most at-risk. Lieutenant Macherone was the recipient of the 2015 Schenectady County Human Rights Award, the 2015 Thomas A. Constantine Award, the 2019 Schenectady County Service and Dedication Award, and the 2021 Wayne E. Bennet Chief’s Award. He has spoken extensively on the intersection of police and public health issues, including on December 13, 2023, when he joined PAARI and his colleagues representing the Schenectady Cares Program and the Schenectady County Outreach Hub before the Congressional Caucus on Addiction, Treatment, and Recovery in Washington D.C. Lieutenant Macherone is a 2001 graduate of SUNY Oneonta, with a bachelor’s degree in political science. In 2022, he obtained his Certificate of Graduate Study in Public Health from the University at Albany’s School of Public Health, where he is currently concluding his master’s degree in public health practice.
