GLOUCESTER — Chief Edward Conley and Mayor Greg Verga are pleased to report that the Gloucester Police Department Community Impact Unit has received $29,878 in grant funding for a new “Teach to Reach” Initiative that will provide training to recovery coaches.
The funding was generously provided by the Beverly and Addison Gilbert Hospital Community Grant and the Yearley Family Foundation.
The “Teach to Reach” program is the brainchild of Community Impact Navigator Tito Rodriguez. Rodriguez suggested enhancing recovery services in Gloucester and the Cape Ann region by increasing the presence of recovery coaches in the community.
Recovery coaches help those working to overcome substance-misuse disorders by assisting individuals with connecting to services such as detox, treatment, harm reduction, medical providers, and local or online support groups. Recovery coaches also support individuals as they return home. Successful recovery includes building support systems, and working on life goals such as relationships, employment, wellness, education, and other daily life tasks,
The goal of “Teach to Reach” is to support local community partners in increasing addiction recovery services in their organizations. The effort will assist allies and those with “lived experience” to be trained as recovery coaches and create a path to become certified recovery coaches, therefore creating employment.
To accomplish these goals, the “Teach to Reach” initiative will provide Recovery Coach Academy training and 35 hours of supervision needed for individuals to apply for Recovery Coach certification.
“Individuals trained to serve as recovery coaches provide peer-to-peer coaching for those who have been through recovery and those who are heading toward recovery, and they help steer individuals to the community resources that can be essential to the journey,” said Lt. Jeremiah Nicastro. “Meanwhile, training individuals to serve in these roles can help create new employment opportunities for those who are interested.”
“I would like to thank the Beverly and Addison Gilbert hospitals and the Yearley Family Foundation for their generosity and support of this new initiative, which will help save lives from substance-misuse disorder while creating employment and fostering peer-to-peer support,” said Chief Conley. “We are strongest when we face this epidemic together, and the Gloucester community has demonstrated as much yet again.”
For more information on the “Teach to Reach” initiative, contact Lt. Nicastro at jnicastro@gloucester-ma.gov, or Tito Rodriguez at trodriguez@gloucester-ma.gov.
Anyone seeking to donate to the Community Impact Unit’s work is asked to send a check in the name of the Gloucester Fund to the Community Impact Unit, 67 Middle St., Unit 25, Gloucester, MA 01930.
