RPD’s “Police Assisted Recovery Program”

(ABC 6 News) – Between July 14th & 15th, the Rochester Police Department (RPD) responded to three overdose incidents.

One of those cases is believed to have killed a 39-year-old woman from Rochester, but police are still waiting on an autopsy and toxicology report to confirm her cause of death.

According to RPD, overdoses have been rising in the city, with social workers embedded in both the Olmsted County Sheriff’s Office and the Rochester Police Department calling it a daily trend.

To help tackle the problem, RPD is providing a non-arrest pathway to treatment and recovery called “The Police Assisted Recovery Program.”

It’s a free program that connects people struggling with addiction to recovery specialists who guide them toward sobriety resources.

“Once a week, I go out with a peer recovery specialist and we try to outreach those folks that have overdoses and try to help connect them to resources and services,” said Teri Dose, a licensed social worker, ” and help them get to treatment if that’s something that they want.”

Everyone living in Rochester is eligible for consultation with the RPD recovery specialists. If you’d like more information on the program, click here.