By Cynthia Grau/WJEZ News

The Pontiac Police Department is implementing a new program to help opiate addicts to find help.

Pontiac Police Chief Jim Woolford was a guest on a recent Community Forum and talked about the initiative Safe Passage.

“The purpose of this initiative is to give opioid addicts help through tools of recovery. In essence, what the program is, is if someone is a heroin addict or someone who is addicted to opioids, such as vicodin, can come to the police department and we will do everything we can to get them into treatment. We have partnered with a number of treatment providers who have agreed to give us some priorities to get us in. We’re about ready to kick our program off. I’m hoping for a July 1 beginning date,” Woolford said.

For more information, listen to the full Community Forum, which can be found in the Podcast section at WJEZ.com.