Effective March 1st 2017 the City of LaPorte Police Assisted Addiction Recover Initiative, or PAARI, will be expanded into the newly formed PAATH Program. PAATH is a Public Safety Assisted Access to Treatment and Health program similar to the current PAARI program available to people suffering from addiction.
Under the new PAATH Program, people will be able to not only go to the Police Department, but also any of the three La Porte Fire Department Fire Stations to ask for assistance. When someone suffering from addiction comes into any of these locations or interacts with any member of the City of La Porte Fire or Police Departments and asks for assistance with their opioid or heroin addiction, they will immediately be paired with a trained community volunteer (known as an Angel) who will guide them through the steps of getting into treatment.
The process involves receiving a medical evaluation followed by guided conversations from treatment professionals on options and overcoming barriers to access to the agreed best treatment path.
As with the previous PAARI Program, users who come in seeking help will not face arrest. The focus of this program is to assist people in finding and continuing along a path to treatment that will work for them.
This program is the result of many community organizations collaborating across the enforcement, prevention and treatment spectrum to provide as many solutions to addressing the opioid epidemic, specifically those seeking help, as possible.
La Porte Police Chief Adam Klimczak said “We hear more often than not that people do not know what services are offered or how to get help with their addiction. The PAATH program is in place to make sure that someone is available 24/7 to help someone in need find their way into treatment.”
To get help, people suffering with addiction to heroin or other opioids can come to any of the following locations 24 hours a day to get started on their road to recovery.
LaPorte City Police Department 1206 Michigan Ave.
LaPorte Fire Station #1 809 W. 18th St.
LaPorte Fire Station #2 115 East Shore Ct.
LaPorte Fire Station # 3 105 Boyd Blvd.