Portland Groups Pull Together To Offer Opioid Addicts A Way Out

Oliver Bradeen’s job could be described as a herculean task – trying to connect opioid addicts to help by navigating Maine’s sparse, disjointed treatment system. Bradeen works as the substance use disorder liaison for the Portland Police Department, meeting with addicts when police are out on calls and accompanying those who have overdosed to the hospital. “My goal is to keep them alive until we can get them help,” he said. Bradeen runs into numerous roadblocks on the job, including two major ones: a lack of access to detoxification centers and to sober, stable housing after detoxification. But if a $1 million plan by a new group – the Greater Portland Addiction Collaborative – becomes a reality, the bottlenecks encountered by Bradeen and other social service workers in the Portland area could be eased. The collaborative, which formed in December, includes a group of nonprofit organizations, the city of Portland, Mercy Hospital and substance abuse treatment advocates.