LACOMBE, La. — The St. Bernard Parish Sheriff's Office is taking another step to fight the opioid epidemic. They partnered with the New Orleans Mission for 'Operation Angel' at the mission's Giving Hope Retreat in Lacombe.
If someone suffering from addiction goes to the St. Bernard Parish Sheriff's Office, they'll bring them to the Giving Hope Retreat recovery center. A house has been dedicated to men from St. Bernard. It will house 20 people struggling from addiction for a year-long recovery and discipleship program.
"This is the way out," said David Bottner, CEO of New Orleans Mission. "So when they come to this facility, they'll know their parish actually sponsored a cottage."
Dan Schneider from Netflix's 'The Pharmacist' believes this is a huge step for his home parish, where he's still fighting the epidemic.
"I think it's fantastic. It's almost another dream come true to have St. Bernard have a facility," Schneider said.
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St. Bernard Parish Sheriff James Pohlmann wants to see more people in recovery instead of behind bars.
"We need to do much more with adolescents, identifying people who have problems," he said.
It's something that's affected his family too. He watched as his teenage son headed down the path of addiction. His hope is that this space in Lacombe will help others struggling.
"We got to help them now, we got to help them now," Pohlmann said.
The dorm for those struggling in St. Bernard Parish looks brand new. IT was just renovated thanks to a donation from the Louisiana Crawfish Fest Foundation of St. Bernard.
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