For Immediate Release

Friday, Dec. 22, 2017

Media Contact: John Guilfoil
Phone: 617-993-0003
Email: john@jgpr.net

Littleton Police Department Takes Multiple Steps to Combat Opioid Addiction

LITTLETON — Chief Matthew J. King announces that the Littleton Police Department, along with its law enforcement partners in the Northwest Middlesex Community Outreach Initiative Network (COIN), has taken multiple steps to continue its efforts to combat the opioid epidemic locally.

Earlier this month, Deputy Chief Jeffrey Patterson attended the groundbreaking two-day National Law Enforcement Summit, which brought together police leaders and recovery advocates from around the nation for a broad-ranging discussion on police-led efforts to combat the opioid epidemic.

The summit, hosted by the Police Assisted Addiction and Recovery Initiative, included panel discussions featuring law enforcement agencies that have reinvented their approach to the opioid issue by treating it as a public health problem rather than a criminal one.

“We are constantly focused on finding new and creative ways to work together as a community to help those in need overcome addiction,” Chief King said. “These approaches are part of an evolving effort that relies heavily on collaboration among law enforcement, residents and recovery experts and I am proud of the work that’s been done to fight this epidemic.”

Littleton Police also recently trained one of its communication officers as a peer recovery coach. Officer Kelly Young will work with the newly formed Littleton Coalition Against Addiction (LCAA), which was launched by Littleton Selectman Cindy Napoli.

As part of the community-wide effort, LCAA will host award-winning journalist Ritchie Farrell, who will discuss his personal journey to recover from heroin addiction. His talk will be followed by a community forum. The event will be held at 7 p.m. on Jan. 10 at the Littleton High School Auditorium. It is free and open to the public.

COIN is a 10-town collaborative that works to take on the challenges associated with substance use disorders and mental health issues. The organization connects those suffering from substance abuse and mental health related illnesses with clinicians that can direct them toward recovery resources, and has recently added an outreach coordinator to its team in order to help those in need better connect with essential recovery resources.

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