The Schenectady Police Department recently announced a new drug program and according to posts on Facebook, it's already saving lives!

I was born in Schenectady, lived in Schenectady my whole life, and currently own a house in Schenectady. Schenectady is in my blood and even though we have some dirt on our reputation, doesn't mean there aren't great people here trying to make the best it can be. That is in big part to my local police department.

The Schenectady Police Department recently announced their Schenectady Cares program, according to WNYT. This program, which started last week, is "designed to help people dealing with substance abuse." Through this program, anyone who needs help can walk into the police station and they will get it. Schenectady Cares is working with other partner organizations to "connect addicts with specially trained staff who can help them find a treatment center free of charge." This makes the police station a "judgement-free zone."

Now, a little over a week later, it seems that the program is very successful. According to a new Facebook post from the Schenectady Police Department page,

This evening, over the course of only a few hours, our department has responded to four overdoses throughout our city. Luckily, because of the quick actions of dispatchers and the professional medical response they received from SFD and Mohawk Ambulance, all of these individuals should be ok. We write this tonight not as a scare tactic, but as a warning. Our officers will work to locate the source or sources, but we cannot stop what is already out in our community and the surrounding communities.

Things like this make me proud to be from Schenectady and I can't wait to see how much more good the Schenectady PD will do with this program.

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