2019 Wellness

Page 66 2019 Wellness Expo LINCOLN DAILY NEWS Thursday, February 21, 2019 Police Giving Addicts Hope Through the Tools for Recovery For people suffering from heroin or other opiate drug addiction Are you addicted to heroin or other opioids? Know someone who is? It’s time to get help! The Lincoln Police Department has a revolutionary new policing program aimed at getting people suffering from addiction the help they need, instead of putting them in handcuffs. Safe Passages is changing the way they handle addicts who request helpwith their addiction to opiates such as Heroin and Fentanyl. How does it work? Any resident who enters the police station and voluntarily asks for help with their addiction to opiates will be placed into appropriate treatment. This placement may not be immediate. The Safe Passage Initiative was created to help Heroin and Opiate addicts into recovery. If you need help or know someone who needs help into recovery from addiction, you just need to come to the police station and ask for it. We are here to help you with your steps towards recovery. There will be some paperwork that needs to be done, then they will be paired with a volunteer who will help guide them through the process. We have partnered with treatment centers to ensure that our patients receive the care and treatment they deserve. We facilitate entry to treatment and act as part of a necessary support system. If you have drugs or paraphernalia at your residence, we will arrange to dispose of it for you. You will not be arrested. You will not be charged with a crime. You will not be jailed. You will be directed to treatment. All you have to do is come to the police station, located at 710 Fifth Street Lincoln, and ask for help. We are here to do just that. *Exceptions that may make someone ineligible for the program: Outstanding Arrest Warrants; Three or more drug-related convictions; History of violence; Registered Sex Offender or Sex related crimes; Under 18 without parent or guardian consent; Medical condition that may need hospitalization.