For Immediate Release

Tuesday, June 28, 2016

Contact: John Guilfoil (P.A.A.R.I.)
Phone: 617-993-0003
Email: john@jgpr.net

Chatham, N.Y. Police Department Joins P.A.A.R.I. To Launch Addiction Recovery Initiative

CHATHAM, N.Y. — Chief Peter Volkmann announces that the Chatham Police Department has partnered with the Police Assisted Addiction and Recovery Initiative to launch their own addiction recovery initiative, Chatham Cares 4 U Outreach Initiative Program.

The program, modeled after the Gloucester ANGEL Initiative, will be announced at a community opioid addiction concerns meeting tonight.

The Gloucester ANGEL Initiative – and now, Chatham Cares 4 U – encourages residents of the community who want to overcome their drug addiction to walk into the police station, turn over their drugs and paraphernalia and ask for help. They will not be charged but instead, will be placed into a drug treatment program regardless of financial means or insurance coverage. Participants will be assigned to a volunteer “angel” who will help guide and support them while in recovery.

“Drug addiction is a disease, and those who are suffering need help. The Chatham Police Department will take direct action. The stigma associated with heroin and opiate addiction is over. Police officers are here to help you, not judge you,” Chief Volkmann said. “This policy in no way diminishes the police department’s role in pursuing the arrest and conviction of those who sell narcotics. Chatham police, using their own resources and those made available by other police agencies, will work to fight drug dealers.”

Gloucester Police Chief Leonard Campanello and John Rosenthal, co-founders of P.A.A.R.I., are pleased to see Chatham Police join the national movement to end drug addiction. They applaud Chief Volkmann’s commitment to the cause, as it allows more people who are struggling with addiction to reach out and obtain the resources they need to recover.

About P.A.A.R.I. 

The Police Assisted Addiction and Recovery Initiative (P.A.A.R.I.) was launched to support police departments around the nation as they work to help those suffering from the disease of addiction. The United States a nationwide heroin and opioid epidemic, with more people now dying from overdoses than from car accidents in this country. Rather than arrest our way out of the problem of drug addiction, P.A.A.R.I. committed police departments:

• Encourage opioid drug users to seek recovery
• Help distribute life saving opioid blocking drugs to prevent and treat overdoses
• Connect those struggling with the disease of addiction to treatment programs and facilities
• Provide resources to other police departments and communities that want to do more to fight the opioid addiction epidemic

P.A.A.R.I. was created by Gloucester Police Chief Leonard Campanello and John Rosenthal to bridge the gap between police departments and those struggling with the disease of addiction.

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