PAARI Recovery Corps Members

What is the Recovery Corps Program?

The Recovery Corps is a cohort of full-time PAARI volunteers spread across the country to serve alongside police to address the opioid epidemic and expand access to treatment and recovery. It was started in 2017 through AmeriCorps, a federal, national community service organization. The majority of our Recovery Corps members are embedded in police departments to help build, strengthen, and sustain police-led programs to reduce overdose deaths and help more people with substance use disorders access treatment and recovery.

In 2021, PAARI was awarded a cohort of 25 PAARI National Recovery Corps members, spread across the nation, from Maine to Colorado, and Michigan to Arizona, to serve alongside police to address the opioid epidemic and expand access to treatment and recovery.

As a result of our program, members have served 14,572 individuals directly and indirectly between June 21st 2020 – October 1st, 2021.

Through members’ fundraising and grant writing skills, members have been able to secure over $970,000 dollars for departments and organizations. Some departments have expressed interest in data tracking systems, and thus far there have been over 1,000 hours put towards that and enhancing other capacity building services.

As part of the team, PAARI was able to send roughly 50% of our members to the Recovery Coach Academy for free. This 30-hour training enhances the knowledge and skills of those who will be supporting people on their recovery journeys. This course delivers CCAR’s 30-hour Recovery Coach Academy for a law enforcement audience, and participants received a Certificate of Completion for CCAR’s Recovery Coach Academy as well as a PAARI Certificate of Completion.

100% of our host sites have stated that because of PAARI’s Recovery Corps and their VISTA member, their organization has increased its efficiency, effectiveness, and program reach. A host site supervisor mentioned, “[the] PAARI Recovery Corps program has created so much room for partnership and collaboration development within [their] department, the community partners, and the surrounding communities,” and that, “without PAARI’s Recovery Corps program, the department would not be able to continue the level of life saving services that [they] have been able to continue amid a pandemic.”

Our core activities include:

Building, strengthening, and sustaining police-led programs
Reducing overdose deaths
Helping people with substance use disorders access treatment leading to recovery
Developing project plans for increasing awareness and participation
Community assessments
Expanding and strengthening partnerships with service providers
Developing financial resources
Developing program marketing materials
Developing policies and procedures
Technology use
Developing data collection systems and processes
Volunteer recruitment and management systems