The organization, which works out of the Health and Human Services Department, has helped cut opioid overdose numbers in half since it began in 2021
Malden, Mass. – House after house, Paul Hammersley walks up the steps and raps his knuckles on the door. When it swings open, he’s ready for any reaction—gratitude, frustration, denial, anxiety.
An addiction recovery resource specialist from the Malden Health and Human Services Department, Hammersley and his team of recovery coaches trek around Malden to follow up on reports of substance abuse instances.
“I have been there. I know the way out. And I just never give up,” Hammersley said. “We never turn our back.”
Hammersley, who has been sober himself for 22 years, helped found Malden Cares in March 2021 after an increase in post-COVID substance abuse activity, especially at the Malden Center MBTA station. Hammersley was given 11 weeks to pilot the program, and because of its immediate success, the city used American Rescue Plan Act funds to extend the program through the end of 2024.
According to Hammersley, there were 102 overdose incidents in 2021, including 16 fatalities. That number has dropped by over 50% since the inception of Malden Cares; Hammersley reported that so far in 2024, there have been 44 total overdose incidents, including 7 fatalities, according to Hammersley’s data from the Malden Police Department.
“You may ask, Why are the numbers dropping? I can give you one simple answer—we have put, in [the past] 11 months, 72 people in treatment,” Hammersley said. “And that’s right off the street. People are actually seeking help because now we’re on the street.”
Hammersley said that 42% of the people Malden Cares has worked with are still in active recovery. This number is significantly higher than the national average; the Discovery Institute found that only 20% of people stay sober during their first year of recovery.
In contrast with Malden’s statistics, national opioid numbers have risen over the past few years. According to the National Institute of Health, drug overdose deaths rose from 2019 to 2022 with 107,941 drug overdose deaths reported in 2022. Deaths involving synthetic opioids—primarily illicitly manufactured fentanyl—continued to rise with 73,838 overdose deaths reported in 2022.
Malden Cares’ success is a city-wide endeavor; Hammersley’s team receive reports of substance use from the Malden Police Department and work on follow-up and outreach efforts.
After working with Malden Cares, additional programs like the Bridge Recovery Center provide recovery resources. The Center, which opened in 2023, offers a variety of services, including support groups (such as Alcoholics and Narcotics anonymous), legal and employment support, and Bridge to Hope, a support group for family and friends dealing with substance abuse and recovery.
“When we first started, it was a handful of people, but now it has become a force,” Mayor Gary Christenson said. “And that’s what I think you need to confront an issue like this.”
According to the 2023 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 35% of U.S. adults over 18 years old who have another mental disorder also have a substance use disorder. As the jail diversion clinician at the Malden Police Department, Vanessa Spero rides in a patrol car with an officer to respond to mental health emergencies. Spero joined the force three years ago as the department’s first-ever clinician, and she has used her dual master’s in criminal justice and mental health counseling to kickstart the position.
“The goal is obviously to avoid police from having to go hands-on or use any sort of force,” Spero said. “Which I feel like Malden is honestly really, really great at.”
Malden Cares is based outside the Malden Center MBTA station from April 1 to November 30 every day. From December 1 to March 31, the organization moves to the Malden Warming Center, which provides a place to sleep and a warm meal for 25 unhoused individuals during the winter months. There, Malden Cares has recovery coaches, who connect individuals with recovery and housing resources.
As freezing rain barraged the Church of the Nazarene last week, volunteers and workers prepared to feed and house incoming visitors. PJ Bell, a recovery coach who works besides Hammersley in the Health and Human Services Department, helps to offer recovery resources to the overnight guests.
Tim Perry is another recovery coach with Malden Cares and has worked with the organization since 2022.
“When I got into early recovery, I saw a lot of young guys with no direction,” Perry said. “I was older and had more experience, and wanted to motivate young ‘recoverees’. We’re motivators and cheerleaders.”
Like Hammersley, all of the Malden Cares recovery coaches have been through recovery themselves, and follow the peer-to-peer model when coaching.
“The folks I’m encountering, they don’t want to sit with someone who has read a book on how they’re feeling,” Hammersley said. “They want to sit with someone that has lived experience.”
Hammersley said that he has received calls from surrounding communities like Woburn and Stoneham on how to replicate Malden Cares’ success.
“It’s the numbers coming down,” Hammersley said. “It’s the city embracing us. It is the support we get from the top, from the city, from everything, from the city council all the way to the state house. Success for the individual means they’re connected in the recovery community.”
For more information about Malden Cares, check out its website at https://www.maldenovercomingaddiction.com/maldencares/.
