MORRIS COUNTY — On October 20, 2020, Acting Morris County Prosecutor Robert J. Carroll joined New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal, Morris County Sheriff James M. Gannon, and the Hope One Team on a virtual outreach forum for youth and their parents to talk about suicide prevention and promote HOPE ONE, a pair of mobile recovery access vehicles which offer critical support for persons struggling with addiction and mental health. Presenters included Tracy Klingener, Director of Suicide Prevention Services, Mental Health Association of Essex & Morris, and Kelly LaBar, Certified Peer Recovery Specialist, Prevention is Key – Center for Addiction Recovery, Education & Success (CARES).
Visiting over 500 locations and 15,000 contacts in the community, HOPE ONE operates in partnership with the Morris County Department of Human Services, the Mental Health Association of Essex and Morris, Family Promise of Morris County, the Center for Addiction Recovery, Education & Success (CARES), and Daytop New Jersey.
Offering immediate services to persons suffering from substance use disorder and opportunities to connect with recovery resources, HOPE ONE recently deployed a second vehicle in August. Vehicles and their staff – a plainclothes Sheriff’s officer, a mental health clinician, and a certified peer recovery specialist – travel throughout Morris County and visit locations known to have at-risk populations, homeless individuals, and histories of drug transactions and overdose deaths. Individuals may approach the vehicle seeking treatment or information about services. HOPE ONE also offers free NARCAN Nasal Spray, a product that may reverse the life-threatening effects of an opioid overdose, and training for how to administer it to family members and friends of those suffering from opiate addiction.
During a Q&A session, attendees asked how to find HOPE ONE, advice on stigma-free language, and how to start the conversation on suicide prevention and substance use disorder.
Acting Prosecutor Carroll said, “The Morris County Prosecutor’s Office believes in the HOPE ONE program and we pledge to General Grewal and Sheriff Gannon our full support.”
