Tapestry Health Slates Event on Opioid Crisis

NORTHAMPTON — Leonard Campanello, chief of police in Gloucester and co-founder of the Police Assisted Addiction and Recovery Initiative (PAARI), and Dr. Ruth Potee, local addiction expert, will be speaking at Tapestry Health ’s Dim Sum Brunch on Sunday, April 24 at the Smith College Conference Center. The event will be from 11-1p.m., and the speaking program begins at 12:00.

The speakers will highlight work being done at both the local and national level to address issues accessing treatment and the impact of stigma during the current crisis.

Under Chief Campanello’s leadership, the Gloucester Police Department created the Angel Initiative in June 2015. Through this program, anyone struggling with addiction could come to the police department, and be linked to treatment and a recovery support system without fear of arrest. More than 500 people have entered treatment through this initiative. He co-founded PAARI in order to help police units across the country implement programs similar to the Angel Initiative.

Dr. Ruth Potee is a Family and Addiction Medical Physician and Chair of the Franklin County Opioid Task Force healthcare solutions committee. She is a locally recognized expert on addiction and a tireless advocate for increased access to treatment.

Attorney General Maura Healey is an honorary co-host of the event. “I am proud to be the honorary co-chair of Tapestry Health’s Dim Sum Brunch. Tapestry Health is a wonderful organization that provides critical health services to some of the most vulnerable individuals in Western Mass. As the opioid epidemic continues to affect individuals and families across the state at an alarming rate, Tapestry Health provides desperately needed services including overdose prevention education, naloxone training, health interventions through needle exchanges, and additional help. These services, coupled with the compassionate care that is a hallmark of Tapestry Health, can truly help save lives.”

As a community-based compassionate health care provider, Tapestry Health provides life-saving care to thousands of people struggling with addiction and their families, including syringe access and disposal, and opioid overdose education and access to Naloxone.