AUGUSTA — Law enforcement agencies in Kennebec and Oxford counties are deploying a new tool in Maine’s fight against the heroin epidemic by adopting a so-called “angel” program based on one being used in Gloucester, Massachusetts.

That program allows people seeking help for their opiate addictions to turn over any drugs and paraphernalia to police without being charged and be paired with an “angel” who guides them through rehabilitation.

Augusta police Lt. Christopher Massey said the goal of the “angel” program is to create a safe place for addicts.

“You can come to the police department if you’re at your wits’ end,” he said. “We have contacts, and we can send you in the right direction.”

He also said the department has a lobby that is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, making it an excellent place to begin offering the program.

The impetus for Augusta’s program came from a city councilor who asked during budget talks what types of treatment were available for people who abuse drugs.

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Augusta Police Chief Robert Gregoire said he responded, “I’m not in the treatment business,” but shortly afterward he and Massey learned of the Massachusetts program and contacted Neill Miner, project director for the Alliance for Substance Abuse Prevention, about creating a similar program.

A CRITICAL JUNCTURE

Maine’s drug problem has reached a critical juncture in recent months and is attracting attention from all corners.

Overdose deaths, particularly from heroin and its powerful synthetic cousin fentanyl, have reached record highs. In the first six months of this year, 34 people died from heroin overdoses, ahead of the pace set last year, when 57 died from heroin overdoses and 208 died from all drug overdoses. During the first weekend in August, there were 14 overdoses in Portland over a 24-hour period, resulting in two deaths.

In Augusta over the past year, officers made 25 arrests related to heroin and responded to 70 drug overdoses, 19 of which were from the use of heroin.

Massey cautioned that law enforcement plays a limited role in the program.

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“Police officers are not counselors or recovery coaches,” he said. “The police department doesn’t have education or resources for therapy.”

On Friday, people representing some of the agencies that have those resources gathered around a conference table on the second floor of police headquarters. Crisis and Counseling, Healthy Communities of the Capital Area, Maine Alliance for Addiction Recovery, MaineGeneral Medical Center’s Substance Abuse Treatment Services, Discovery House, Kennebec Behavioral Health and the Alliance for Substance Abuse Prevention were among those represented.

They have been meeting since May and will begin recruiting recovery coaches Monday. Those coaches are peers who have been through recovery themselves and can help mentor people through the process, including finding support services, health and social services, training, and transportation.

The 30-hour training course by Darren Ripley, of the Maine Alliance for Addiction Recovery, will take place during the first two weeks in November. Ripley said four people already have come forward to volunteer as recovery coaches. He said anyone interested in volunteering can contact him at 458-4111 or at dripley@masap.org.

“What we’re missing is a solid plan for recovery and treatment,” said Joanne Joy of Healthy Communities of the Capital Area. “There are gaps that really need to be filled so that when people enter recovery, they have a fighting chance to stay clean and their needs (are) met. Until we have all the pieces in place, we are not going to roll it out.”

Crisis and Counseling, Kennebec Behavioral Health and MaineGeneral’s Outpatient Services will help coordinate and provide services as capacity allows, according to Emily Brod, of Crisis and Counseling.

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Miner said one of the significant gaps is funding for treatment.

“There are long waiting lists,” he said. “We want to do what we have the capacity to do right now to support recovery.”

Gregoire said Friday that once the angel program is up and running, it would be available to all who seek help regardless of whether they have prior convictions for trafficking or possession of drugs.

WESTERN MAINE TASK FORCE

In Oxford County, Lt. Jeffrey Lange, interim chief of the Paris Police Department, has also been working to establish an angel program.

“We established our own task force here in Oxford County, and it includes every law enforcement agency in Oxford County as well as the sheriff and Bridgton (which is just over the line in Cumberland County),” Lange said.

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Known as the Western Maine Addiction Task Force, it includes civic organizations, the Healthy Oxford Hills group, Stephens Memorial Hospital and a number of counseling agencies, as well as Andrew Robinson, district attorney in Androscoggin, Oxford and Franklin counties.

Lange said he hopes to get the green light so the program can begin by the end of September. He said a tip line and a Facebook account already have been set up. However, that program will differ from Augusta’s in that prior drug trafficking convictions will make people ineligible to participate.

At a recent Town Hall discussion in South Paris, Oxford County Sheriff Wayne J. Gallant offered statistics on the heroin problem and Lange said that proved “quite alarming for this area.”

Gallant recited those statistics from memory Friday, saying there were 104 heroin-related calls for service in the county in 2014.

“This year, so far, we’re up to 125. So you can see there’s certainly an increase,” he said.

And on Tuesday, Oxford County deputies found a 33-year-old Bethel man dead in his home, along with heroin, hypodermic needles and other indicators the death was heroin-related, Gallant said. At the same time, deputies got two other calls related to heroin overdoses.


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