{"id":28835,"date":"2021-10-30T14:45:40","date_gmt":"2021-10-30T18:45:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/videonewsservice.net\/?p=28835"},"modified":"2021-10-30T14:45:40","modified_gmt":"2021-10-30T18:45:40","slug":"genesee-county-city-fire-captain-paari-is-a-door-to-people-struggling-with-addiction-and-reducing-stigma","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/videonewsservice.net\/index.php\/2021\/10\/30\/genesee-county-city-fire-captain-paari-is-a-door-to-people-struggling-with-addiction-and-reducing-stigma\/","title":{"rendered":"GENESEE COUNTY\/City Fire Captain: PAARI is a Door to People Struggling with Addiction and Reducing Stigma"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Mike Pettinella GCASA Publicist<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In the eyes of City of Batavia Fire Captain Greg Ireland, his department made a wise and potentially life-saving decision to join the Public Safety Assisted Addiction & Recovery Initiative in Genesee County.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ireland, speaking at the GOW Opioid Task Force meeting via Zoom earlier this month, said access to a specially-built foyer in front of the fire headquarters on Evans Street for those struggling with substance use has made a big difference \u2013 not only for those individuals who are seeking help but also for the fire department personnel assigned to support them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Task Force, in conjunction with the Greater Rochester Health Foundation and Genesee\/Orleans Council on Alcoholism and Substance Abuse, hosted a public event at the fire station this summer to welcome the City of Batavia FD into the fold \u2013 joining the City of Batavia and Village of Le Roy police departments and the Genesee County Sheriff\u2019s Office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The City of Batavia FD is the first fire department in the state to be a part of the PAARI network.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ireland said that by educating them about substance use and addiction, firefighters learned to understand what some people are going through.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere were some in our department who said they didn\u2019t want those people in our building; that they didn\u2019t want to deal with addicts,\u201d he said. \u201cThrough education, that was a very easy hurdle to change. Educating our firefighters and employees to the opioid crisis.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

PERCEPTIONS HAVE CHANGED<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

He also said a key factor in the education process was when a GCASA peer advocate came to the fire department and met with every one of the firefighters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat really bridged that gap. They were able to see that these are real people who have real struggles and eventually can be successful,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ireland, in thanking the GRHF for a grant that made it possible, pointed to the secure area for PAARI intake at the building\u2019s front door as overcoming another hurdle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe were able to build a double-door foyer for intake now, and that\u2019s where the process starts,\u201d he said. \u201cBut a firefighter is assigned to stay with that person from the minute they walk in until the peer counselor from GCASA arrives.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ireland took on the role as coordinator of the PAARI program for the department after learning the success the Chatham Police Department had in starting several years ago. The initial thought of Chatham organizers was to reduce petty crime by taking those with substance use disorder off the street by getting them help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThink about these folks who have that substance use disorder, and they\u2019ll basically take from anything to feed their habit,\u201d he said. \u201cSo, what they found is that by eliminating the people with substance use disorder in his community, they reduced the petty crime \u2013 theft and things of that nature because people weren\u2019t stealing to buy drugs. That was the whole goal of this program. It reduces crime and there\u2019s some scientific evidence to prove that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ireland said medics use special business cards \u2013 printed with \u201cAddiction is not a crime, it\u2019s a disease\u201d and \u201cHelp is available 24\/7\u201d \u2013 when responding to calls involving drug use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe will leave the cards on the kitchen table as we leave,\u201d he said. \u201cOur hope is someday maybe they will pick that up, see it and maybe it\u2019s the right time for them to accept the help.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NON-ARREST PATHWAYS TO TREATMENT<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

PAARI\u2019s mission is to provide training, guidance, support, and resources to help law enforcement agencies nationwide create non-arrest pathways to treatment and recovery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was founded by the Gloucester (Mass.) Police Department along with the Angel Program in June 2015 \u2013 creating a simple, stigma-free entry point to treatment and reframing addiction as a disease.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Under this program, those struggling with substance use can go to the law enforcement agency 24\/7 and receive help, stigma-free, GOW Opioid Task Force Coordinator Christen Ferraro said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat that means is that an officer will meet them at the door and they will help them to get the help that they need,\u201d she said. \u201cIf they have drugs on them, police or fire officials will dispose of those drugs for them, they will connect them with the resources for treatment and recovery, and kind of be that first entry point to getting help.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of those resources is the support of a GCASA peer support advocate \u2013 a team player, often in recovery, who steps into the role of providing a bridge between providers and clients that facilitates the medical and psychosocial care of the client.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rob Shields, who spoke during the meeting, is one of those people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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MAKING CONNECTIONS IS THE KEY<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs someone in recovery, I wish that I knew about a program like this due to the fact that I might have not gone through the struggles that I went through,\u201d Shields said before explaining his responsibilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said that those struggling with substance use need someone they can connect with \u2013 someone who can relate to their situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA peer advocate or peer support advocate emphasizes their support for the peer they’re working with,\u201d he said. \u201cThey connect with the peer and fight for what they need. Peer advocates can be found next to peers in court. They help them come up with coping skills and ways to monitor their own progress.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shields emphasized that substance dependency can be \u201ca scary place.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou get to the point where you don\u2019t know where to turn, and you don\u2019t know who to talk to. You\u2019re in so deep, that nothing else matters in your life,\u201d he explained. \u201cYou think that people won\u2019t give you the time of day, but with the PAARI program you have people that are there to support you and connect you to the resources to help you on your road to recovery.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Along with the options of going to the agencies mentioned above, other avenues for those seeking help with substance use disorder are the 24\/7 telephone hotline — CARE + CRISIS \/ WYO CO CRISIS 585-283-5200 \/ PEER PHONE LINE 585-815-1800<\/a> — and GCASA\u2019s The Recovery Station at 5256 Clinton Street Rd., Batavia.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Mike Pettinella GCASA Publicist In the eyes of City of Batavia Fire Captain Greg Ireland, his department made a wise and potentially life-saving decision to join the Public Safety Assisted Addiction & Recovery Initiative in Genesee County. Ireland, speaking at the GOW Opioid Task Force meeting via Zoom earlier \u2026<\/p>\n

Continue reading<\/i><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[23],"tags":[2709],"class_list":["post-28835","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-genesee-county","tag-paari"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8eTP4-7v5","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":26565,"url":"https:\/\/videonewsservice.net\/index.php\/2021\/07\/08\/batavia-new-paari-location-announced-at-city-fire-to-assist-with-non-arrest-pathways-to-treatment-and-recovery\/","url_meta":{"origin":28835,"position":0},"title":"BATAVIA\/New PAARI location announced at City Fire to assist with non-arrest pathways to treatment and recovery","author":"aka","date":"July 8, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Press release Representatives of the organizations that support the Genesee County PAARI program will be recognized next Tuesday at a midday event at the City of Batavia Fire Department headquarters at 18 Evans St. The local Public Safety Assisted Addiction & Recovery Initiative has gained momentum in the county, most\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Batavia"","block_context":{"text":"Batavia","link":"https:\/\/videonewsservice.net\/index.php\/category\/gennesse-county\/batavia\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/PAARI-Event-Flyer-New-Draft.png?fit=927%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/PAARI-Event-Flyer-New-Draft.png?fit=927%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/PAARI-Event-Flyer-New-Draft.png?fit=927%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/PAARI-Event-Flyer-New-Draft.png?fit=927%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":38515,"url":"https:\/\/videonewsservice.net\/index.php\/2022\/12\/21\/genesee-county-public-safety-advocates-come-together-to-help-others-through-paari-program\/","url_meta":{"origin":28835,"position":1},"title":"GENESEE COUNTY\/Public safety, advocates come together to help others through PAARI program","author":"aka","date":"December 21, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"By Mike PettinellaGCASA Publicist Deaths from drug overdoses, many of them involving fentanyl, are on the rise, and all neighborhoods \u2013 urban and rural \u2013 are at risk. 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