Morris County Sheriff's Office Hope One Mobile Substance Use Outreach Vehicle Marks 300th Stop Since Its Launch In April 2017
Published on July 23, 2019
The Morris County Sheriff's Office Hope One mobile substance use resource and recovery vehicle has achieved a program milestone by making its 300th stop in the community since its launch on April 3, 2017.
The Morris County Sheriff's Office Hope One mobile substance use resource and recovery vehicle at Rockaway Boro Plaza on July 22, 2019
Hope One, overseen by Morris County Sheriff's Office Corporal Erica Valvano, started out Monday, July 22, at the monthly recognition breakfast for service providers and recovering substance users hosted by the Rockaway-based Center for Addiction Recovery, Education & Success (CARES).
Hope One then parked before noon at the Rockaway Boro Plaza and set up a table laden with coffee, pastries, snacks and brochures about treatment options that serves as a welcoming beacon to anyone who wants to inquire about opioid addiction and treatment programs. Within minutes, CARES certified Peer Recovery Specialist Kelly LaBar was inside the Hope One vehicle, instructing a man whose friend is struggling with heroin addiction on the use of Narcan to reverse an opioid overdose.
The teams of the Morris County Sheriff's Office Hope One and Morris County Navigating Hope mobile outreach programs at Rockaway Boro Plaza on July 22, 2019.
After 300 stops “ and serving as the prototype for mobile Hope One programs in Newark, Atlantic, Cape May and Monmouth counties and assisting Hudson and Burlington counties in developing their own Hope One mobile programs “ the Morris County Sheriff's Office Hope One program has maintained its momentum as a stigma-free resource committed to stemming heroin use and life-threatening dependence on opioids.
The Morris County Sheriff's Office and its Hope One partners “ CARES, Daytop NJ, and the Mental Health Association of Essex and Morris “ are dedicated to providing this non-judgmental resource that accepts people where they're at clinically and helps steer them to treatment options. Hope One, also, is always there to support the non-users -- the families and friends who agonize over a loved one's opioid dependency “ through Narcan training and guidance on recovery options, Morris County Sheriff James M. Gannon said.
Since April 3, 2017, Hope One has made contact with more than 7,700 individuals and Narcan-trained more than 1,830 people. At least 143 people have been directed to rehabilitation or recovery programs and another 102 people have received guidance and resources on mental health treatment programs.
On Monday at the Rockaway Boro Plaza, three people were trained on the administration of Narcan, including a woman in recovery, the friend of a struggling heroin user, and a Jefferson Township councilwoman who is on the township rescue squad. Another woman, struggling with a mental health disorder and the death of her son, received help from Sara Musikoff, the Mental Health Association case worker on board Hope One.
Hope One's stop on July 22 was in tandem with a stop made by Navigating Hope, a mobile social services program run by the Morris County Department of Human Services and the non-profit Family Promise of Morris County.
CARES Associate Director Melody Runyon had praise for Hope One's longevity.
The synergy of all the talented and passionate people who provide services has really created a positive change in regard to attitudes about addiction as well as provided access to invaluable resources. Morris County Prevention is Key (PIK) and CARES are honored and
humbled to have been part of the project since its creation, Associate Director Runyon said.
Hope One's upcoming stops in Morris County include July 25 at the Community Soup Kitchen, 36 South Street, Morristown; July 29 at Trinity Lutheran Church's Faith Soup Kitchen, 123 E. Blackwell Street, Dover; and August 1 from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Free Produce Market, Salvation Army, 76 North Bergen Street, Dover.
Several other special events that will spotlight help for substance use disorders are planned in Morris County:
- The Michael Wallin Memorial Golf Classic, in memory of a 32-year-old man who died by overdose, will be held August 9 at the Knoll Country Club in Boonton. All proceeds will benefit CARES and the Michael Wallin Memorial Foundation. For further information, contact Vance Mulholland at 973-830-0727 or Russell Wallin at [email protected].
- An International Overdose Awareness Day ceremony will be held on August 28 from 1 to 3 p.m. on the Morristown Green.
- In observance of International Overdose Awareness Day, a ceremony to honor the memory of those who died by addiction and those suffering with substance use disorders will be held on August 31 from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. Beginning with a light breakfast at CARES, 25 W. Main Street, Rockaway, and proceeding to Donatoni Community Park, 231 W. Main Street, Rockaway.