A surge of heroin and prescription drug abuse has given renewed purpose to a nearly decade-old program that offers young addicts and first-time drug offenders a second chance.

The program, run by the Essex County district attorney’s office and a Lynn-based nonprofit, clears the records of people arrested for minor drug offenses in exchange for their sobriety.

“These are people who made a mistake — maybe it was a random act — and really have no business being in the court system or incarcerated,” said Mark Kennard, executive director of Project COPE, which manages the program. “This gives them an opportunity to get the help they need, and if they successfully complete the program, not have a record.”

Addicts who pass through Project COPE’s offices in Lynn’s hardscrabble downtown are as young as 17 and as old as 26. They come from cities including Lawrence, Gloucester, Salem and Newburyport – but also affluent towns such as Marblehead, Hamilton and Ipswich.

Most were busted for minor offenses – drug possession, trespassing, disorderly conduct or petty burglary.

But Kennard said he has seen a dramatic increase in the number and severity of their addictions since the diversion program started in 2007.

“Initially, we were dealing mostly with kids who were pulled over for pot, or got arrested for shoplifting and had a drug problem,” he said. “But the population has shifted to a much more complex, chronic group of individuals.”

Massachusetts, much like the rest of the country, is wrestling with a spike in heroin and prescription drug abuse that claimed more than 1,200 lives in 2014. The Merrimack Valley and North Shore regions have been hit especially hard.

Law enforcement officials say the grip of addiction is driving many drug users to commit petty crimes to feed their habits, which clogs up court dockets with first-time offenders.

That’s where the diversion program comes into the picture.

Shortly after an arrest, an offender is referred to the program by the district attorney’s office, which hand-picks potential candidates, in some cases before they’ve even appeared before a judge.

Within hours, an offender is evaluated by social workers, substance abuse experts and healthcare clinicians who recommend treatment that can range from weekly counseling to long-term, inpatient detox. The cost of treatment is covered entirely by the program.

Getting into the program is difficult. Those with previous arrests are typically left out. If charges involve trafficking drugs, gun possession or violent offenses, an offender isn’t even considered.

Once in the program, offenders must undergo weekly drug testing and meet benchmarks determined by caseworkers. If they are arrested again, there is no second chance.

The district attorney’s office referred 82 people to the program in the budget year that ended June 30. Seventeen “graduated” while another 32 are still receiving treatment, according to Project COPE’s annual report to the state Legislature.

At least 33 offenders returned to court to face charges after withdrawing from the program, failing drug tests or getting arrested again, according to the report.

“This is a voluntary program, and we’re not going to win all the wars,” said Kristen Luongo, the program’s director, who has worked with hundreds of addicts over the years. “Some people just aren’t ready for treatment.”

Among those who completed the program is a 22-year-old who was charged with illegal possession of prescription painkillers and larceny after being accused of stealing pills from the pharmacy where she worked, according to Project COPE’s report. She got clean during a year of therapy.

Another offender, a 21-year-old college student with a heroin addiction and Hepatitis C contracted from intravenous drug use, got clean during a year spent in a sober house and substance abuse counseling.

The diversion program is unlike similar efforts to help addicts get sober.

Drug courts operate in several districts across the state, including Essex County, but those are designed to deal with chronic addicts who often have been arrested numerous times.

Project COPE – which is governed by an 11-member board of directors and has an annual budget of $2.9 million and 70 employees – runs eight other programs including two residential drug treatment programs. The nonprofit recently merged with Lynnfield-based Bridgewell, which offers substance abuse treatment, affordable housing and other services.

Essex County District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett launched the drug diversion program eight years ago, with former state Sen. Steven Tolman, in response to a previous spike in heroin and prescription drug abuse. The state Department of Public Health gives $250,000 to help pay for it.

State health officials say the program is emblematic of Gov. Charlie Baker’s focus on treatment over incarceration for drug addicts, and they are looking into replicating it.

“Diverting addicts from the criminal justice system is a strategy that really makes sense,” said James Cremer, deputy director of operations in the state Health Department’s Bureau of Substance Abuse Services.

Baker, a first-term Republican, has called the state’s heroin problem a “public health crisis.” A Baker-appointed task force issued 65 proposals for education, treatment and prevention.

The governor has since introduced legislation to further limit prescription painkillers and require physicians to hold overdosing addicts up to three days for observation.

Lawmakers have agreed to spend more to make more beds available in state-funded substance abuse centers, stockpile the overdose-reversing drug Narcan and expand drug education.

Essex County Sheriff Frank Cousins describes the district attorney’s diversion program as “another tool in the toolbox.”

“Anytime we can keep first time offenders out of the court system and move them into diversion is a good thing,” he said.

Blodgett said it’s taken a few years to get judges in the county’s 11 district courts on board, but the program now operates in courtrooms from Lawrence to Salem and is caching the attention of other district attorneys.

“We’re doing everything we can to catch people at the beginning of the process and give them an opportunity to change their behavior,” he said. “No one should be prosecuted just because they are addicted to drugs.”

Christian Wade covers the Massachusetts Statehouse for CNHI’s newspapers and websites. Reach him at cwade@cnhi.com.