COMPASSION CAN BRING CHANGE

Forzato worked for 31 years as a county detective, primarily as a lieutenant with NET, where he conducted undercover and wiretap investigations. As a detective, Forzato said he targeted the dealers who “made money off the misery” of others who were suffering from addiction.

While he was “merciless in a sense to the people who trafficked these substances,” Forzato said he treated those who suffered from the disease with compassion. Forzato said he saw firsthand the devastation that addiction brings to individuals, families and communities.

Forzato said he encountered people who struggled with addiction after they were overprescribed an opioid for pain management after suffering an injury.

“The goal is to get first responders to buy in to treating people with compassion, caring for the whole person, realizing that the person’s intersection with criminal justice may be because of substance use disorder and it’s not a moral failure. It’s that the addiction has taken over, it’s so strong,” Forzato said.

“What we’re trying to do is explain to first responders there really is no reason to have stigma when they encounter people who are suffering from addiction…and we want first responders to understand the brain disease of addiction and how to encourage people to get treatment,” he added.

In 2017, Forzato also worked for the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office where he was involved in statewide drug education initiatives.

“I was a drug enforcement guy. What I realized is that we cannot arrest our way out of this crisis and that we have to try new initiatives to address this problem statewide,” Forzato said. “You cannot institute good positive change in our community without having compassion.”