The community came together for Newtown Parent Connection's Coffee for Clinicians — Coffee with a Cop at Newtown Community Center on Thursday, June 26.

The event served as a chance for local residents, behavioral health providers, and clinicians to network, share resources, and engage in meaningful conversations with members of the Newtown Police Department Community Services Unit.

Others in attendance included members of McCall Behavioral Health Network's CLEAR initiative, Parks & Recreation, Human Services, Newtown Parent Connection, First Selectman Jeffrey Capeci, Newtown Prevention Partnership Chair Matt Ariniello, and NPP Prevention Coordinator Kaitlyn Johnson.

Local clinicians, providers, and even parents dined on pastries, fruit, and coffee from Angelina's Italian Deli, with additional coffee from Better Day Café, as they talked amongst themselves and connected with one another.

For Nicole Hampton, the Executive Director of Newtown Parent Connection, events like these are just one step to strengthening the circle of care in Newtown.

"It's important to connect those who are passionate about strengthening mental health and substance use support systems in our community," Hampton said.

She noted a turn of phrase from British writer and journalist Johann Hari, who extensively researched and spoke with people who lived and studied addiction: that the opposite of addiction is not sobriety, but is instead connection.

It's this same notion which drives Newtown Parent Connection and its mission to embrace families in crisis and educate people in preventing substance use.

Hampton said addiction and substance use can be very difficult for people to open up about, whether they are the one using or the loved ones of someone who is. However, she said events like Coffee with a Cop, where people talk about these issues over food and drink, make them less intimidating to talk about.

"We do these events often, but it means so much more doing it at home in Newtown and bringing together people in the community," Thompson said. "The collaboration of care continues beyond these events, too, and that's what I'm really proud of."

Support For Students

Also in attendance was School Resource Officer Stephanie McDermott, who said she's headquartered out of the high school, but works with all of the district's schools.

As an SRO, McDermott works with the schools to help create and maintain a safe environment for students. Since school is out for the summer and the job falls under the community policing umbrella, McDermott said she's excited to be in the community for events like Coffee with a Cop.

McDermott has an open door policy where students can come in, ask questions, or talk about whatever is bothering them. In addition to handling peer problems such as bullying or deterring disciplinary issues, McDermott said she acts as a resource for teachers and other staff members.

She also answers student's questions at NHS's career center if they're interesting in a law enforcement career, or visits classrooms to talk about constitutional law or good decision making.

McDermott said if there's something she wishes students or parents knew about but might not be currently aware of, it's that SROs want to support students and be an extra resource for them.

"Our main goal isn't to arrest your kid or discipline them or anything like that, it's to support them in the community and be there for them," McDermott explained.

Her favorite part about the job, she said, is seeing students succeed.

"On patrol, you're usually are only called to the bad stuff. Nobody's calling the police to say, 'My kid got an A on a test,' so I get to see the opposite of that," McDermott said. "It's just nice to be involved."

Making That Connection

One initiative people could connect to at Coffee with a Cop is McCall's CLEAR — Community and Law Enforcement for Addiction Recovery — program. CLEAR is a free and voluntary program that provides people with the opportunity to stay safe and heal through education, harm reduction, ongoing support, and connection to services and resources.

CLEAR Family Recovery Coach Alicia Peterson and CLEAR Community Engagement Specialist Ximena Varas said the program recently teamed up with NPD to respond to high risk and overdose victims in the Newtown area.

CLEAR began around three years ago and only just started to expand from Torrington, Winstead, and Watertown. Newtown is one of the first areas it expanded into, according to CLEAR Family Recovery Coach Alicia Peterson and CLEAR Community Engagement Specialist Ximena Varas.

They said CLEAR recently teamed up with NPD to respond to high risk and overdose victims in the Newtown area, as well as provide support and other services.

"The hope is, by connecting with police, we can actually go into the town and be that connection point and resource to not only people who are in active use, but the family members who are trying to take care of then," Peterson said.

Since they work with police, Peterson said the beautiful part about the program is that as much as they're empowering their clients, they're empowering officers to do things differently.

She explained how, rather than the old cop mentality of "lock them up and put them in the hospital," officers start the conversation with, "We have this resource, they can work with you, or we can bring them to you to talk and see what you need."

Anderson said they visit the person in need with the police department initially to explain their services, provide additional guidance, or just give them someone to talk to.

If the person in question is not ready for treatment, Anderson said the visit gives them a chance to talk to someone who is not a family member. If they accept that service, CLEAR continues helping the individual without the police department.

Anderson said they have seen significantly reduced calls from the police department to the same individuals because they're receiving the care they need.

NPD officer Maryhelen McCarthy said they've already seen "great results" in their few months working with CLEAR. McCarthy said one of the most important things from a police standpoint is that they step back after introducing people to CLEAR.

"We step back so when people are talking to CLEAR, we have nothing to do with it," McCarthy explained. "It's private, they don't share with us, and it gives people more confidence to speak with them."

For individuals or families in need, Varas said it's like a bridge to continuous support if they feel ready for it. Even if they're not ready, Anderson said they can always reach out to them in the future if they want to.

Anderson also pointed out that a lot of people involved in CLEAR, such as herself, have lived experience with addiction or substance use.

Ultimately, she said the goal is to help break the stigma of addiction and let users and family members know they are not alone.

"Everyone's affected," Anderson said. "Everyone's life matters, and talking about it, having programs, having an outreach, is how we can help."

Reporter Jenna Visca can be reached at jenna@thebee.com.