GLOUCESTER, MA — Police Assisted Addiction and Recovery Initiative (P.A.A.R.I.) honored State Senator Bruce Tarr, who represents Wilmington, at its Fourth Anniversary Celebration and Awards Ceremony on Wednesday, June 26, 2019.
The annual Anniversary Celebration and Awards Ceremony commemorates the founding of P.A.A.R.I. in June 2015, and recognizes law enforcement, government and community leaders who have played a role in fulfilling the organization’s mission to support the creation of law enforcement based non-arrest pathways and access to treatment and recovery.
With its network of more than 450 law enforcement partners, P.A.A.R.I. is providing access to treatment and working toward a collective vision where non-arrest diversion programs become a standard policing practice across the country. This law enforcement movement is reducing overdose deaths, expanding access to treatment, improving public safety, reducing crime, diverting people away from the criminal justice system, reducing stigma and increasing trust between law enforcement and their communities.
“For four years, P.A.A.R.I. has worked with our law enforcement partners to make tremendous strides in the fight against the opioid crisis,” Co-Founder and Chairman John Rosenthal said. “By supporting non-arrest diversion programs, increasing accessibility to treatment and recovery programming and resources, and supporting law enforcement agencies as they adopt these new effective approaches, we’ve been able to help more than 20,000 people access treatment and are changing the conversation and state and national policy around substance use. Thank you to all of our partners who are making this life-saving, important work possible.”
P.A.A.R.I. Executive Director Allie Hunter added, “We have the pleasure of working alongside an incredible range of law enforcement, government, recovery and community partners, and this celebration is always a great opportunity to thank them all for their support and commitment to fighting the opioid epidemic in new ways. It’s taking a lot of people, working together, to address the opioid crisis. This is an opportunity to celebrate our collective impact.”
“Four years ago, P.A.A.R.I. was founded out of a need to make a dramatic change in the way our law enforcement agencies and communities were responding to the opioid epidemic,” said P.A.A.R.I. Board Member and retired Arlington Police Chief Fred Ryan. “We’ve taken great strides since then, and will continue making new partnerships and undertaking new initiatives for as long as it takes. Thank you to all of our partners, who make this important work possible.”
P.A.A.R.I. honored several individuals and groups for their contributions to the effort to combat the opioid crisis, including the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy Director James Carroll, who will be in attendance at the event.
- In addition to State Senator Bruce Tarr, the following government and community leaders were recognized:
- Boston Mayor Marty Walsh
- Gloucester Mayor Sefatia Theken
- State Representative Marjorie Decker
- Gloucester Public Health Director Karin Carroll
- Monica Bharel, Commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health
- Massachusetts Organization for Addiction Recovery (MOAR): Executive Director Maryanne Franguls and Public Policy & Communications Director Jared Owen
- Vicky Butler, Operations Supervisor, Plymouth County Outreach
- U.S. Drug Czar James Carroll, Director of the U.S. Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP)
About P.A.A.R.I.
The Police Assisted Addiction & Recovery Initiative (P.A.A.R.I) 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 Police Department Angel Initiative in June 2015, P.A.A.R.I. has been a driving force behind this rapidly expanding community policing movement. We provide technical assistance, coaching, grants, and other capacity-building resources to more than 450 police departments in 33 states. P.A.A.R.I. 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 thousands of lives, changed police culture, and reshaped the national conversation about the opioid epidemic. Learn more at http://www.paariusa.org.
(NOTE: The above information is from John Guilfoil Public Relations.)
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