Police chief from ‘safest village’ in NY will speak at local Opioid Task Force

Staff Reports Posted 3 July 2018 at 4:02 pm

BATAVIA – The police chief who has developed an outreach program for people fighting opioid addictions will be the featured speaker on July 18 during the next Genesee-Orleans-Wyoming Opioid Task Force.

Peter Volkmann is the police chief for the Village of Chatham in Columbia, County. He developed “Chatham Cares 4 U” initiative in which any person can request help for opioid addiction and a treatment bed will be arranged with transportation guaranteed.

The Genesee-Orleans-Wyoming Opioid Task Force meets from 10 a.m. to noon on July 18 at GCC, One College Road in Batavia.

Chatham has been recognized as “the safest village” in New York State. But that hasn’t spared the community from the opioid epidemic.

Volkmann is also a faculty member for the International Critical Incident Stress Foundation in Ellicott City, MD and has been featured as an expert on stress for Dateline (NBC), Discovery Channel, MSNBC, and Law Enforcement Television Network (LETN). He will share how one small rural community has been an agent of change when addressing the opioid crisis.

Chief Volkmann will be available after the presentation to answer individual questions.

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