GORHAM — Police chiefs in four communities have banded together to assist the efforts of their residents in overcoming opioid addiction.

The Westbrook Recovery Liaison Program, armed with a state-funded grant aimed at meeting the basic needs of those in recovery, is up and running.

The police chiefs heading the program are Janine Roberts of Westbrook; Daniel Jones, Gorham; Kevin Schofield, Windham; and Troy Cline, Buxton.

“We requested and received $111,842 for the WRLP; the timeline for the grant is 21 months (October 2016 – June 2018),” Roberts said in an email to the American Journal.

Danielle Rideout, who will be paid $102,000 through the grant, is the program liaison working with the chiefs.

Rideout couldn’t be reached for comment Wednesday by the American Journal deadline.

“Danielle is a person in long-term recovery herself,” Roberts said. “She is a licensed alcohol and drug counselor. She has worked in the recovery field for several years.”

Rideout will connect program participants with local resources for help with necessities, including food, clothing, counseling, medical and health services, occupational training and jobs.

The program is designed to help those in recovery prevent relapses.

Jones said Tuesday that the opioid epidemic has spread everywhere, including Gorham. “We’ve had overdose deaths in town,” Jones said.

He cited one recent case in which his department went to a parking lot in Gorham Village following a call about two people who appeared asleep in a car during the day. Jones said needles were found in the car. Both people were hospitalized and one was charged, Jones said.

Windham is not immune, either, according to Schofield. In the past eight to 10 months, he said, there were four deaths related to “acute” opioid use in Windham. “We have the problem,” Schofield said.

His department has saved four lives since Sept. 1 with Narcan nasal spray, and 21 overall counting those administered assistance by Windham Rescue, he said.

Schofield said the towns’ collaborative approach is a bit different, but  “we’re trying to mitigate this problem.”

“It’s a lot of work for Danielle,” he said.

To find participants for the program, Rideout will partner with the Cumberland County Jail, Westbrook’s Community Approach to Stopping Heroin coordinator, and representatives from Grace Street Services who will be hosting an opioid treatment group inside the jail on a weekly basis,” according to a Westbrook Police Department press release.

Rideout also will work  with  police officers and community partners in each municipality to identify participants. “We intend to use funds for recovery coach training and technology to support Danielle in the RL position,” Roberts said. Officers will be trained as recovery coaches, Schofield said.

Rideout will visit the county jail and the four police departments one day weekly. Schofield said the program will have a positive impact on individuals and families.

The program is not costing the departments money now, but when the grant expires, the communities will need to find funding. “We’ll see what we can do to keep it going,” Jones said.

Cline could not be reached for comment by the American Journal by Wednesday.

As part of the grant program, the Westbrook Police Department will be hosting a 30-hour recovery coach training presented by the Maine Alliance for Addiction Recovery in March, the press release said.

In addition to recruiting local community members to become recovery coaches, each police department and the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office will send at least one officer to the training.

“The officers are not expected to take over the full role of a recovery coach,”the press release said.

“Instead, the goals are for the officers to absorb the information, incorporate the new knowledge into their daily interactions with those living with opioid use disorder, those who love them, and the recovery community, and to share key concepts and terminology with their co-workers and the community at large to further raising awareness of how we can all support our community members living with and recovering from opioid use disorder.”

Robert Lowell can be reached at 854-2577 or [email protected].

A closer look

Danielle Rideout, the liaison for a new program aimed at helping opioid addicts in recovery with necessities, will be at Westbrook Public Safety on Mondays; Gorham Police Department, Wednesdays; Windham Public Safety, Thursdays; and Buxton Town Hall, Fridays. She will be at each location from 10 a.m.-2 p.m.

Rideout also can be contacted at 303-4009 or [email protected].