Police Assisted Addiction & Recovery Initiative 4 Year Anniversary Celebration & Awards Ceremony

PAARI - Police Assisted Addiction & Recovery Initiative(P.A.A.R.I)is a nonprofit organization working with law enforcement agencies across the nation to create pathways to treatment and recovery and last night they recognized several individuals and groups for their contributions to combat the opioid crisis – I was honored to be one of them.

Among those who were recognized for their contributions include: Gloucester Mayor Sefatia Romeo Theken, State Representative Marjorie Decker, Gloucester Public Health Director, Karin Staiti Carroll, Monica Bharel, Commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, MOAR - Massachusetts Organization for Addiction Recovery, Executive Director Maryanne Frangules and Public Policy & Communications Director Jared Owen, Vicky Butler, Operations Supervisor, Plymouth County Outreach and U.S. Drug Czar James Carroll, Director of the U.S. Office of National Drug Control Policy.

In addition, several members of law enforcement from across the nation were recognized for their leadership including Gloucester Police Department's Lt. Jeremiah Nicastro and Sgt. Sean Conners.

P.A.A.R.I. was founded in 2015 to assist the Gloucester Police Department landmark ANGEL Initiative, which transformed the way law enforcement agencies confront addiction.