2019 -- H 6221

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LC002617

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2019

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H O U S E   R E S O L U T I O N

CONGRATULATING THE BURRILLVILLE POLICE DEPARTMENT ON THE CREATION

AND SUCCESS OF THE "BURRILLVILLE ADDICTION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM

(BAAP)"

     Introduced By: Representatives Place, Newberry, Filippi, Shekarchi, and Kennedy

     Date Introduced: June 13, 2019

     Referred To: House read and passed

     WHEREAS, During a six week period in 2014-2015, the Town of Burrillville endured

the tragic deaths of six people due to overdose, giving the Town the troubling distinction of

having the highest per capita death rate in the nation due to overdoses. These deaths had a

devastating impact on the Town; and

     WHEREAS, In response, the Town immediately reacted by passing a number of

measures to address the crisis. All Burrillville Police Officers were issued Narcan to carry at all

times which has resulted in numerous “Narcan life saves” by multiple Burrillville Police Officers;

and

     WHEREAS, The Burrillville Town Council, upon receiving Burrillville Police Chief

Colonel Stephen J. Lynch’s proposal to fund a program with a full-time Coordinator who would

offer treatment paths for those seeking to end their addiction, passed and fully funded the

Burrillville Addiction Assistance Program (BAAP), which officially commenced in January of

2018, with the hiring of Coordinator Michelle Harter. The BAAP Program is embedded within

Burrillville Police Department and provides 24/7 service. In addition, the Town of Burrillville

funded the hiring of a Substance Abuse Prevention Coordinator, who works closely with BAAP

to counsel young people about the dangers of drug use and to help those suffering from drug

addiction; and

     WHEREAS, Since April of 2019, BAAP has placed more than 140 people into treatment

and recovery programs, has distributed NARCAN to at-risk individuals in Burrillville and has

partnered with local and state recovery centers including WellOne, Adcare, Community Care

Alliance, Anchor Recovery, Parent Support Network, and the Pain Solutions Center to assist

recovery efforts for Burrillville residents; and

     WHEREAS, The Burrillville Addiction Assistance Program formed three different

addiction/family support groups which meet weekly at the Burrillville Police Station, hosted,

trained and graduated 28 members to become certified Peer Recovery Specialists, performed

door-to-door outreach in conjunction with the Burrillville Police Department to assist those in

need of substance abuse guidance, co-hosted Burrillville’s first Town Hall Forum on the subject

of Opioid Use Disorder, and, thanks to its success, is often contacted by other communities in

Rhode Island for assistance in planning similar programs for their cities and towns; now,

therefore be it

     RESOLVED, That this House of Representatives of the State of Rhode Island and

Providence Plantations hereby congratulates the Burrillville Police Department on the success of

the “Burrillville Addiction Assistance Program (BAAP)”; and be it further

     RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and hereby is authorized and directed to

transmit a duly certified copy of this resolution to Colonel Stephen J. Lynch, Police Chief, Town

of Burrillville.

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LC002617

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