Police and Peers program reports local diversion gains, asks St. Albans council for continued support

Nicole Wazell, a coach with the Police and Peers program, told the St. Albans City Council on July 20 that the program has steered people away from arrest and into treatment, and asked for continued grant support. "My name is Nicole Wazell, promoting individual in long term recovery, and I have the great honor of getting to serve the community on our program called Police and Pears," she said, noting the initiative is federally funded through SAMHSA through September 2026 and that organizers are seeking additional federal, state and county funding.

Wazell described the program’s approach as diversion and deflection: coaches meet people in the community, connect them to treatment options and follow up through court and outreach. "Rather than expanding the reach of the criminal legal system, Police and Peers focuses on addressing the underlying problems that led to the criminalized behavior in the first place," she said.

She provided program data for 2025: "We did 71 intakes," Wazell said, adding that staff conducted 599 coaching sessions and distributed 653 naloxone kits. She said roughly 90% of the program’s interactions took place in St. Albans and Nitro jurisdictions. Wazell also said that in the most recent three months the program enrolled 24 new participants, made 50 treatment referrals and successfully connected 28 people to treatment services.

Wazell described partnerships with community health providers and court liaisons, saying coaches attend municipal court and coordinate with providers such as Magnolia Health and an on-street outreach clinician she identified as Dr. Josh to provide wound care and medical follow-up. She also emphasized that many participants need repeated attempts to sustain recovery: "Studies show it takes somewhere between 9 and 11 times of an individual attempting treatment before it starts," she said.

Council members asked about refusal and follow-through. Wazell said refusal rates are low when officers call coaches — she estimated a refusal rate of roughly 2 percent when outreach occurs — but cautioned that not every participant follows through and that readiness varies.

Council members and Chief Bass praised the program’s court outreach and assistance obtaining identification documents, crediting coaches with improving outcomes and reducing repeated arrests. No formal council vote occurred on additional funding during the meeting; councilors thanked the presenters and moved on to other agenda items.

The program’s leaders said they are actively seeking grant renewals at federal and state levels while continuing local partnerships and court-based outreach. The council opened the public forum later in the meeting; no funding decision was announced at that time.