New Maine Program Helps Addicts in Recovery

A volunteer program in Maine—which has already been in effect in a couple towns in Massachusetts—helps addicts find recovery, aided by the police and recovery coaches.

This initiative encourages addicts to walk into a police station and ask for help so they can be directed towards the new program. Addicts will receive assistance for volunteer recovery coaches, some of which are in recovery themselves. In addition, they will be provided with resources for enrolling in addiction treatment.

“Basically you’re there as a peer mentor, healing them with resources, setting goals, and generally just supporting them,” stated Roberta Rolfe, a volunteer who is training to be a recovery coach (Kim, 2015). Volunteer training for the program has already started, but the program is not yet available.

In the first half of 2015, “105 people died from a drug overdose in Maine” and “of those deaths, thirty-seven were primarily attributable to heroin and twenty-six to fentanyl” (Kim, 2015).

References

Kim, V. (2015). Maine program teaches ‘angels’ to help opiate addicts on recovery journey. Retrieved from https://www.thefix.com/maine-program-teaches-angels-help-opiate-addicts-recovery-journey