ESCANABA — Before the Michigan State Police implemented it at all 30 of their posts in December 2017, the Angel Program in Escanaba launched in February 2016 to provide help to people who struggle with substance use. Both continue to offer assistance today, with the help of volunteers called “angels” who drive people to treatment centers.

Both are partnered with the nonprofit Police Assisted Addiction & Recovery Initiative (PAARI), which strives to create “non-arrest pathways to treatment and recovery.” These programs aim to reduce the demand and abuse of the dangerous drugs by helping people overcome their habits and dependencies, instead of punishing dealers and users and trying to simply remove the supply from the streets without addressing the problem of addiction.

The model came after the Gloucester Police Department in Massachusetts kicked off an Angel Program in June 2015, citing opiate overdose as the leading cause of accidental death in the state.

“To help reduce the number of fatal and nonfatal overdoses in Gloucester, we are changing the way we handle addicts who request help with their addiction … There are many resources available in the city of Gloucester to help with this disease, but many people do not know how to access these services,” reads the background for the policy.

Since Massachusetts is not alone in facing a drug crisis, other similar programs arose. The actions and intents of Angel Programs address the issue from a different direction than law enforcement’s traditional practices.

PAARI was founded to support the efforts in Gloucester and help other departments establish similar movements. They “are working towards a collective vision where non-arrest diversion programs become a standard community policing practice across the country, thereby reducing overdose deaths, expanding access to treatment, improving public safety, reducing crime, diverting people away from the criminal justice system, and increasing trust between law enforcement and their communities,” states the nonprofit’s website.

In January 2016, Escanaba Public Safety’s Lt. Rob LaMarche delivered a presentation on the Angel Program to the Community Foundation for Delta County. Soon after, the Community Foundation made a $10,000 donation to aid in the start-up.

Less than a month later, the program launched.

It works by welcoming drug users who wish to quit into the Escanaba Department of Public Safety building at 1900 3rd Ave. N. Provided they do not have outstanding warrants, they may hand over any drugs they may have without fear of prosecution. They are given an intake assessment, “and then once we determine what they’re looking for, we’ll get a hold of the treatment center and they do an evaluation also,” said administrator Jen Spriks with the Public Safety Department.

Volunteer “angels” provide rides to the treatment centers and are reimbursed through the program. The time frame in which treatment availability can be found varies; Spriks said that sometimes it can take days or a week, but that she has arranged for a person to get on their way to a rehabilitation center within a half hour of their arrival at Public Safety.

Escanaba was the first community in the state to employ the program, but the Michigan State Police (MSP) followed suit. The MSP Angel Program went to its Gaylord post first in November 2016. A grant from PAARI helped with the costs of advertising and travel reimbursement. By December 2017, all 30 posts of the MSP were offering the Angel Program.

It’s been successful in reducing recidivism.

Spriks, who does a range of administrative jobs for the Escanaba Public Safety Department, said that working on the Angel Program to help people get help is one of the best parts of her job. Sometimes, people who have sought and received treatment come back to visit.

“The very first one that came back after — I think he was in for nine months — he came back to see me, and it was just before Thanksgiving. It was the coolest gift anyone could give,” said Spriks. “This would have been 2017-ish that he went in, and we did hear just recently that he still doing good.”

If current drug users want to stop, they may step into the Escanaba Department of Public Safety building at 1900 3rd Ave. N. or the Gladstone Michigan State Police post at 922 Lake Shore Dr.