NORWALK, Conn. — The Norwalk Police Department and Liberation Programs will host a community event on Thursday, July 24, to spotlight local efforts to shift from punishment to treatment in response to substance use as part of National Deflection Week.
The event will be held outside the Norwalk Police Department, located at 1 Monroe Street, from 2 to 5 p.m. It will aim to showcase the station’s efforts through the Community Law Enforcement Assisted Recovery (CLEAR) initiative, a deflection program.
“Deflection is about providing real-time help—not punishment—to people struggling with substance use,” said Liz Evans, Senior Director of Harm Reduction at Liberation Programs, a mental health and substance use service non-profit. “We’re proud to stand with local law enforcement and invite the public to join us in supporting a public health approach that saves lives.”
Organizers will distribute free Narcan kits and fentanyl test strips, offer educational materials on overdose prevention and drug checking services, and explain how deflection programs like the CLEAR initiative are helping people access support services instead of being funneled into the criminal justice system. There will also be a free ice cream truck to make the event more accessible to families.
Deflection Week is observed nationally from July 14 to 20 and highlights various ways in which individuals with substance abuse disorders are being supported through treatments instead of being sent to jail.
These deflection programs promote a public health approach that can “help reduce stigma associated with substance use and mental health issues,” according to the press release. The initiative helps officers connect individuals to treatment options instead of overcrowding jails with arrests, shifting the focus from punishment to rehabilitation.
For more information, visit liberationprograms.org
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