For years, George Montanaro searched for his daughter, Chellsey, as she struggled with addiction and homelessness.

When he finally found her living in the woods near a Fred Meyer in Port Orchard, it was heartbreaking.

Montanaro learned she was in Port Orchard when the Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office informed him she had been spotted there.

That’s when Sgt. Donna Main reached out to him. “She told me, ‘I know your daughter. I know where she is,’” Montanaro recalled.

Main developed a rapport with Chellsey through her work with the homeless.

“I met Chellsey over a year ago after she and a friend ended up in Port Orchard from Everett,” Main said. “They fell into homelessness and substance use disorder, making it challenging for them to find their way back.”

Main often engaged with Chellsey during law enforcement calls related to unwanted behavior or drug use in public. “I always tried to find a way to get her back home or help her get clean and sober,” Main said. “I would ask her if she was ready for treatment, but she would often have excuses for not going. This is a common struggle; it’s not on our time, and we just have to keep offering support.”

When Montanaro first reunited with Chellsey near the Fred Meyer gas station, he was overwhelmed with emotion. “It broke my heart. The way she looked, the way she smelled — it just brought tears to my eyes,” he said.

Determined to help, Montanaro and his wife, a nurse, took Chellsey shopping for clothes and Narcan, a medication used to reverse opioid overdoses. Chellsey had previously used her last dose to save a friend’s life.

Despite their efforts, they soon realized Chellsey couldn’t enter treatment without basic identification and health insurance. That’s where Main stepped in. “She helped her get her health insurance card and even drove her to get an ID,” Montanaro said. “She did a lot of this on her own time.”

Main emphasized the importance of patience in the process, noting that what could take a day for someone not under the influence can take months for someone like Chellsey. “It was difficult to find her in a state where she could think clearly because of the impacts of fentanyl,” Main said.

With those critical steps in place, Chellsey was finally able to enter rehab. Unfortunately, she disappeared again before starting treatment. Montanaro tracked her down through an online jail roster in Snohomish County, where she had been arrested on a warrant. “Sometimes, jail can provide a moment of clarity for individuals like Chellsey,” Main said. “It gives them a chance to clear their minds and think about their future.”

After serving 30 days, Chellsey emerged a changed person. She entered intensive treatment, graduated to outpatient care, and now attends five recovery meetings a week. “I’ve never seen her so dedicated,” her dad said. “She’s even playing softball with her sponsor’s team. She’s never played sports in her life.”

Montanaro credits Main’s relentless support for Chellsey’s success. “I believe her sobriety is because of her,” he said. “You usually see police trying to ‘clean up the streets,’ but these officers are trying to get people sober.”

Main highlighted the department’s focus on community policing: “We approach individuals experiencing homelessness with kindness and understanding. We build relationships, and that’s how we can truly help.”

After a recent conversation with Montanaro, Main received a text update from Chellsey, sharing a picture of herself looking healthy and happy. “It was remarkable to see her transformation,” Main said, smiling. “I shared that photo with my team, who were also instrumental in supporting Chellsey. It’s not every day we get such positive news.”

The Port Orchard Police Department engages with the homeless community, addressing root causes like addiction and mental health struggles. “We don’t go out and harass them; we want them to get the resources they need to become contributing members of our community,” Main said, adding officers often provide food, clothing and other essentials from their own pockets, fostering a sense of trust.

Port Orchard police are also part of the collaborative community initiative Community Law Enforcement Aligning in Response to Substance Use, or CLEAR. This initiative emerged after the state legislature passed a law in 2021 that requires all new law enforcement recruits to receive training in substance use and substance use disorder.

“Through these initiatives, we’re trying to show that there’s help available, and it doesn’t always have to lead to jail,” Main said.

Main would often take her team to look for Chellsey, saying, “We would always reach out to her and others on the street, letting them know that when they were ready, we were here to help.”

To explain her dedication, Main shared a parable about a young girl on a beach after a storm, where thousands of starfish are stranded. An old man walked by and said, “You’ll never make a difference.” The girl responds, “I’m throwing these back in because if I don’t, they’ll die.” When the man insists she can’t possibly make a difference with so many starfish, she picks one up and throws it into the ocean, saying, “I made a difference in this one.”

“This story emphasizes that you can always try to make a difference, even if it’s just for one person,” Main said. “I kept thinking about Chellsey and how we just need to keep trying.”