Wellington premieres documentary on opioid crisis response program

WELLINGTON — A documentary chronicling Wellington's attempt to combat the opioid epidemic through a network of police, fire, EMS and clergy premiered Monday evening. "The Wellington Experiment," filmed by Patrick Shaver, was shown at the Patricia Lindley Center of Performing Arts, with community members and first responders watching the documentary about the Village's program. Started in 2016, the Local Initiative Networking Compassion program offers those struggling with addiction the opportunity to come to the Wellington Police Department for help. Former Chief Tim Barfield said what struck him when he came to the village was how connected the community was. The police, fire and EMS personnel who responded to overdose calls knew the mothers, fathers and siblings of those drug users. Barfield retired from the department in early 2023. "These were people that they knew, and so we knew we had to do something a little bit different," Barfield said ahead of the screening. It was an issue that police could not arrest its way out of, Barfield said, prompting the connection with clergy and Let's Get Real Inc., a nonprofit providing assistance in getting treatment and finding recovery support. Barfield met Shaver while Shaver was filming his first documentary, "Officer Involved." As a former Atlanta police officer, Shaver began sitting down with fellow cops in the aftermath of an officer-involved shooting, discussing the issues it raises for the officer. As Barfield told Shaver about the LINC program, Shaver knew it was something he wanted to document, he said. He traveled to Wellington several times between 2019 and early 2020, collecting interviews about the start of the program — and the skepticism around it — and reenacting the intake process. When someone walks into the station for the LINC program, an officer sits and talks with them and calls one of the volunteers from a local church to sit with that individual while they wait for a peer support specialist from Let's Get Real. Once on site, Let's Get Real's peer support specialist helps get that individual into treatment and takes them from the station to the services they need. Shaver said Monday's screening was the first time the documentary has been shown to the public — garnering applause from the dozens of community members in attendance. Prior to Monday's screening, it received the Director's Choice Award at the Austin Revolution Film Festival. He hopes to have the film publicly available by the fall. After the screening those involved with the film and LINC discussed the program and its history in the village. For more information about LINC, visit its Facebook page. Contact Carissa Woytach at (440) 329-7245 or cwoytach@chroniclet.com.