VALPARAISO, IN – Operation 2 Save Lives (O2SL) and QRT National recently delivered a Deflection Academy in Valparaiso, Indiana, equipping public safety, health department and community partners with essential deflection skills.
The Deflection Academy was presented from Jan. 22-23, in partnership with the Police Assisted Addiction & Recovery Initiative (PAARI). The instructors included Scott Allen of O2SL & QRT National; retired Ohio police commander Michael Owens, of O2SL and QRT National; and Brittney Garrett, senior director of public safety engagement and strategy with PAARI.
The training was hosted by Dawn Pelc, executive director of the Hub Coalition, which serves Porter and Starke Counties in Indiana. The 22 attendees work in the fields of law enforcement, peer recovery, social work, mental health services and healthcare. They represented about a dozen different agencies in Porter, Starke, LaPorte and Lake Counties.
O2SL & QRT National’s Deflection Academy is designed for public safety personnel, certified recovery coaches, clinicians, social workers, and community-based organization specialists who will be engaged in Deflection and community health advocacy.
The course informs and educates attendees on the field of deflection and pre-arrest diversion. The training offers an overview of nationally recognized deflection pathways while focusing on engaging public safety in collaboration with their public health and community-based team members.
Once implemented, the pathways help community and public safety partners respond to, engage with and assist persons who have experienced overdoses and are at risk, or vulnerable persons with substance use disorders. The training also addressed other community needs, such as mental health disorders, drug-endangered children, the impacts of trauma and trauma-informed responses, family support initiatives and more.
Deflection models are operating within communities across the United States. O2SL & QRT National have delivered customized Deflection training over the past three years to partners in Connecticut, Wisconsin, West Virginia, Kentucky, and Texas, along with other specialized training and mentoring in numerous additional states.
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