Falls Township will begin using a new model for dealing with substance abuse-related calls.
The police department will start working with two certified recovery specialists as soon as this week to fight back against substance abuse.
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Drug overdoses are one of the top causes of death in Falls Township, police Chief Nelson Whitney said.
“For years we’ve been trying to chip away at what we can do to make this better,” Whitney said. “This kind of next levels it.”
The Falls Township Supporting Recovery Program will have the two certified recovery specialists working within the municipality on full-time shifts Monday through Friday. The certified recovery specialists will respond along with police officers to substance abuse and overdose-related calls, the chief said.
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“Certified recovery specialists would provide emergency medical care, promote treatment, and provide follow up focusing on access to care, transition in care, support for long-term recovery, access to health care benefits, and providing connections to physical health related needs,” the township said in a statement.
“All the data indicates that when a person is in that moment of crisis the best time to connect them with treatment is then,” Whitney said. “We have high hopes that this program will help the people suffering in this community.”
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The co-responders who are certified recovery specialists work for the nonprofit Family Service Association of Bucks County. Their salary is funded by a grant from the Bucks County Drug and Alcohol Commission.
The township has seen 854 overdoses since 2010 and 131 related deaths. There were 105 overdose calls in 2019 and 123 in 2020, Whitney said.
Falls Township is one of the first municipalities in the county to offer this type of program for substance abuse issues.
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Bensalem Township police and Bucks County are working on a similar program to help people in crisis.
The Falls Township Board of Supervisors approved accepting the terms of the program and policy changes for the police department during their meeting Tuesday evening.
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Whitney said the program adds more resources for the police department and doesn’t defund law enforcement.
The supervisors were supportive of the program.
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“This is a good thing for Falls Township,” Supervisors Chairman Jeff Dence said.
Correction: Falls Township was not the first in the county to offer this program, but is among the first. Officials may have misspoken. The story has been updated.
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