MAINE, USA — Public safety departments across the state joined in for a virtual conference Tuesday to discuss alternatives to response when it comes to calls.
Hosted by the Police Assisted Addiction and Recovery Initiative (PAARI), the Maine State Convening offered feedback and assistance for departments looking for alternative resources available near them.
Currently, PAARI hosts its Recovery Corps Program which places full-time volunteers to assist police departments to address the opioid epidemic. They currently work with the Waterville Police Department.
Many departments are leaning toward implementing deflection or diversion policies to their responses, at times when an arrest would not necessarily make the community safer.
Nonprofit Volunteers of America was also present, which works with those struggling with mental health, addiction, homelessness, and more.
VOA Director of Community Justice Programs Robyn Goff said helping police figure out how to connect people in crisis with the right resources and support can lead to better outcomes for everyone involved.
"If they get diverted or deflected into one of these programs, and they can successfully complete treatment or their case management requirement and we can keep the family unit intact, it's not necessarily giving them a pass in the crime they committed but getting them help for the root causes of why that crime was committed in the first place," Goff said.
Goff said moving forward, the two organizations hope to make this meeting a quarterly event to see how departments' progress goes.