FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Zoe Grover, Executive Director of PAARI – media@paariusa.org
BOSTON, MA June 7, 2026 – The Police Assisted Addiction and Recovery Initiative (PAARI) is pleased to announce the nation’s first Foundational Deflection and Diversion Certification Program for public safety departments.
Across the country, public safety departments respond to millions of 911 calls annually, many involving substance use or behavioral health crises. While many public safety departments are eager to offer alternatives to arrest, a lack of accessible, specialized training has long served as a barrier to implementing life-saving deflection and diversion programs.
“Our partners consistently tell us that they want to guide people toward treatment and recovery instead of incarceration, but they need the formal training and techniques to do so effectively,” says Zoe Grover, Executive Director of PAARI. “We are bridging that gap by providing the knowledge, confidence, and on-the-job skills necessary to sustain these programs and help our neighbors in crisis.”
The new training initiative features modules designed for police chiefs, command staff, and officers:
- Addiction 101 for First Responders: This course provides an overview of the science of addiction, evidence-based medications, and therapies proven to support recovery.
- The Trauma-Addiction Connection for First Responders: This course explores the role of trauma in addiction, and provides tactical approaches to public safety departments wishing to employ a trauma-informed approach to policing.
- Deflection and Diversion Foundations for First Responders: This course provides an overview of the many and varied responses departments across the country are employing to support the health and wellness of their communities.
“Looking back to 2016 when I launched Kentucky’s first Angel Program at the Jeffersontown Police Department, I know firsthand the challenges of building a deflection pathway from the ground up without a formal playbook” said Brittney Garrett, PAARI’s Senior Director of Public Safety Outreach and Strategy, and co-author of the new training. “This new PAARI Essentials of Deflection and Diversion Certification program is exactly the resource I wish I had ten years ago. By providing actionable, expert-led guidance,from the ‘Trauma-Addiction Connection’ to ‘Deflection and Diversion Foundations’,we are finally giving command staff and officers the tactical confidence they need to turn the desire to help their communities into a sustainable, life-saving reality.”
The courses may be taken individually for certificates or together for the Essentials in Deflection and Diversion Certification. The courses are self-paced and online, designed to be flexible to the needs of departments at any size.
“We’ve built a program based on the needs of our departments following instructional design best practices” said Elizabeth Leingang, PAARI Project Manager and course designer. “We worked very intentionally to structure learners’ educational experiences to maximize knowledge retention and engagement throughout the training. Ultimately, our mission is to have the lessons learned in the classroom translate to lives saved in the field.”
For more information about PAARI’s training programs or how to enroll, please visit paariusa.org.
###
ABOUT PAARI: The Police Assisted Addiction & Recovery Initiative (PAARI) 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, 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, training resources, and other capacity-building resources to more than 800 police departments in 46 states.
PAARI 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 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.
