St. Martin Parish (KLFY)– In St. Martin Parish, the sheriff’s office has announced a new community program to help people dealing with substance abuse. It’s the first program of its kind in the state, and possibly the nation.

Aimed at reducing crime and the number of people in jail, St. Martin Parish Officials partnered together to create the Substance Abuse Team for Addiction Recovery, also known as the ‘STAR’ Program.

St. Martin Parish Sheriff Becket Breaux said the STAR Program was created to address and treat the issues of addiction.

“I tell you, we’ve been doing this for about eight months now and the results are astonishing.” Breaux said.

In addition to decreasing the number of people who end up in jail because of it. With funding from an opioid settlement, parish officials partnered with mental health and addiction recovery professionals to offer the St. Martin Parish community resources to get the help they need.

Pete Delcambre, St. Martin Parish president, said this program is unprecedented, and what Sheriff Breaux is accomplishing in the eight months the program has been established is astronomical.

“Listing off parameters and requirements, the sheriff took these and put together a program. And not only a program, but a program that’s working.” Delcambre said.

Dana Alkadi, Executive Director of the ‘STAR’ Program, said addiction is not the problem; it’s used to numb the problem. She said her team is focused on finding the source of the problem as a preventative measure.

“What we’re doing is prevention, and it doesn’t matter how we do it, as long as we prevent people from falling through the dark path.” Alkadi said.

Alkadi said the program offers treatment for mental health crises, substance abuse, addiction recovery, and so much more. She said people who call the program’s hotline if they feel they are in a crisis, or know someone needing help, will be assisted by first responders who are equipped to handle every situation. Sheriff Breaux said this is a way to help St. Martin Parish move in a better direction.

“Our deputies now are trained to deal with those situations and manage any signs of stress or crisis they see, and they pick up the phone and they contact the right entities so those individuals will get the right treatment.” Breaux said. “The help doesn’t stop just getting them out and getting them addiction free, but help goes on and finding them jobs to have them become part of the community.”

A 24/7 helpline is available for anyone in the parish seeking assistance. That number is 337-394-HELP. Officials said there is no cost to receive help if you enroll in the program, and everything is confidential.

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