August 13-15, 2024 | Omni New Haven Hotel at Yale | 155 Temple St, New Haven, CT
Sarko Gergerian
Lieutenant
Winthrop, MA Public Safety & Health Department
Pathway:
COMMUNITY ASSISTED RECOVERY
Session Title:
Community and Law Enforcement Assisted Recovery, an evidence-based, recovery-oriented community policing methodology that successfully united public safety with public health through people with lived experience in Massachusetts.
Session Details:
The Winthrop Departments of Public Safety and Health initiated a collaborative effort to engage with community members facing mental health and/or substance use challenges. By 2015, this collaboration had evolved into the Winthrop Community and Law Enforcement Assisted Recovery (CLEAR) Team. Originating from a practice initially implemented by a single peace officer and later adopted department-wide, the initiative involves leveraging information from dispatch logs and incident reports to proactively reach out to community members affected by mental health and/ or substance use challenges and connect them with people who have lived experience and are in recovery. This presentation aims to elucidate how this approach fostered community trust, revolutionized public safety and health departments, elucidated the CLEAR methodology's foundational mechanics, and offered insights on replicating the program in other communities across the nation.
What are you looking forward to most at #MPRCCT2024?
I am excited to attend the world's most advanced recovery coaching conference with fellow individuals who have experienced the beauty of recovery.
Lieutenant Sarko Gergerian is a distinguished member of The Winthrop, Massachusetts Public Safety and Health
Departments and holds a pivotal role as the supervisor, outreach, peer support, and health-fitness officer,
where he has served for over fourteen years. His extensive background and expertise in law
enforcement, clinical mental health counseling, and coaching make him an invaluable asset to the community.
Lieutenant Gergerian earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Philosophy & Religion with a minor
in Psychology from Northeastern University. Building upon his foundational knowledge, he
pursued further academic excellence and obtained a Master of Science degree in Mental Health
Counseling and Psychological Services from Salem State University.
He co-founded one of the first guardianship models of recovery-oriented community policing in the country.
He is the first police Lieutenant in Massachusetts to earn the certified addictions recovery coach credential after
being deeply intellectually and emotionally inspired by CCAR's recovery coach academy and ethical considerations classes.
He is also the first police Lieutenant assigned concurrently to the public safety and health departments in his
community where he oversees the creation of matters for public health as part of a multidisciplinary team of helpers
led and comprised of people with lived experience.
In addition to his responsibilities within public safety, Lieutenant Gergerian practices
psychotherapy with adults during his evenings. His multifaceted education, extensive work
experience, and rich life experiences have profoundly influenced his approach to police work and
psychotherapy. Guided by his deeply held psycho-spiritual religious convictions, Lieutenant
Gergerian is driven by a genuine commitment to serving and supporting individuals in their
journey toward recovery and holistic well-being.