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On Wednesday, April 20th, Mercer Council held its annual Legislative Brunch and Substance Abuse workshop at Erini Restaurant in Ewing. Dr. Donald Hallcom, Director of Prevention and Early Intervention, DHS/DAS gave the opening remarks. Dr. Hallcom discussed some of the changes at the state level including the merger of the Divisions of Addiction Services and Mental Health into the Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services (DMHAS). Assemblywoman Mary Pat Angelini of the 11th district was the featured speaker and spoke on the new Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights, which was signed into law in January.
“The goal of the new law is to educate parents, school officials and the general public about the frequency and severity of the consequences of bullying behaviors that unfortunately does occur in our schools today and, as a result, provide hope to victims — to let them know they no longer need to suffer in silence.” said Assemblywoman Angelini.
The Prevention Workshop “Higher Learning? Drugs on College Campus” was a panel discussion focusing on drinking issues at Mercer County Colleges. The panelists, representing all colleges in Mercer County included Joe Hadge (The College of New Jersey), Valerie Brooks-Klein (Mercer County Community College), and Margarita Leahy (Rider University). “Matt”, a college student in recovery was also on the panel and told his story of alcohol addiction and recovery. Mary Grace Billek, Director of the Mercer County Department of Human Services was the moderator for the panel discussion.

