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New program aims to help drug addicts, not jail them

Tri-County Times - 6/10/2017

"Hope Not Handcuffs" is the new motto at a few area police stations when it comes to handling people who are addicted to narcotics.

Argentine Township and the village of Holly police departments have officially joined the program, and if an addict goes to those departments seeking help, they will immediately be put into treatment. They will not be arrested.

Argentine Police Chief Daniel Allen said, "Basically, if someone comes into our office and requests help, that they want to get off an opioid or heroin, we contact the coordinator and the coordinator contacts an 'angel,' which is a person who gets that person placed into a treatment facility."

Created by Families Against Narcotics, this initiative aims to help people who are addicted to drugs by placing them directly in treatment programs as opposed to jail. People are placed in treatment for being addicted to heroin, opioid, meth, and for alcoholism.

June 1 was the first day of the Hope Not Handcuffs program in Genesee County, and as of June 1 at 2 p.m., five people had already signed up online.

Randi Novak, Hope not Handcuffs online coordinator for Genesee and Lapeer counties, said taking the online route is easier for a lot of people.

"I think people are still going to be scared to go into the police station. It's pretty intimidating, especially when you're struggling with addiction issues," she said. The Macomb County initiative launched Feb. 1, and they've put 216 people in treatment as of June 1. That's approximately 54 people per month so far.

Once people sign up, an Angel volunteer takes them to treatment. Where they go depends on their insurance. Novak said Michigan needs more detox centers.

"I'm sure there's going to be a lot more growth and facilities to help these people," she said. "You can't arrest your way out of this problem. You can put them in jail but that's not treating the problem. We're trying to stop the whole domino effect of addiction."

The program did not take long to launch in Genesee County. Novak first spoke with Genesee County Sheriff Robert Pickell on Valentine's Day of this year.

When asked if she was surprised at the number of people who signed up on day one, Novak said her own son struggled with addiction and when she got him help, she opened up about it.

"I'm a nobody. When I was honest about my son, 233 people reached out to me," she said. "You can't really meet anyone who has not been affected by it somehow so I'm not surprised."

Novak said she hopes this initiative will help create a society with more respect for police.

"It's going to cut down on crime. It's going to cut down on parents having to make funeral arrangements for their children. It's going to do a lot of good things," she said.

Allen said the people who sign up for the program want to kick their drug habit.

"The whole attempt is to try to reduce the recidivism of drug abuse. It's a cycle," he said. Drug addicts will commit crimes, like breaking and entering, to feed their drug habits. By getting these people help instead of jailing them, police are expecting to see a decrease in crime.

"It's about time" they have a program like this, Allen said. "When it comes to this topic, law enforcement has been reactive. This is a proactive approach," he said.

Village of Holly Councilor Dave Cruickshank said Holly Police Chief Michael Story was on board from the beginning, and jumped right into it.

Cruickshank said it's a waste of money to put people in cages for nonviolent drug crimes, and that all communities have drug problems. He said ever since the Federal Drug Administration made it law that people can't use narcotics for longer than 30 days, the heroin problem has gotten worse everywhere.

"Our fire chief and EMS chief were saying since the change, they've had an uptick in Narcan uses," he said. Narcan is a medicine emergency responders use to save someone who overdosed on a narcotic.

Cruickshank said when they talked with Ferndale officials about their program, an officer told them they once had to use Narcan three times on one man in one day.

"If it saves one life it's all worth it," he said. I desperately hope this will be effective. I can't wait for the day we can say 'we helped someone.'"

You can sign up to be an Angel volunteer or enter treatment at familiesagainstnarcotics.org/hopenothandcuffs.