Somerset County officials are taking steps planned to stymie drug abuse in communities.
Somerset County Prosecutor Michael H. Robertson, Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Chief of County Detectives John W. Fodor, New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal, and the Office of the New Jersey Coordinator for Addiction Responses and Enforcement Strategies (NJ CARES) Director Sharon M. Joyce announced on Jan. 27 that officials will initiate the commencement of phase one of Somerset County’s Operation Helping Hand program.
Robertson said that four years ago while serving as the Bergen County Prosecutor, Grewal developed Operation Helping Hand as a “new and innovative way” to combat opioid addiction.
Under his direction, the first multi-county Operation Helping Hand initiative was launched in five counties in June 2018. The program was eventually expanded to 17 counties in September 2018 and to all 21 counties in the state in September 2019.
The pilot program began in Bergen, Morris, Passaic, Sussex and Union counties as a week-long Operation Helping Hand initiative involving law enforcement, county government, and addiction service agencies.
Officials said that after the program’s success was demonstrated when 148 individuals encountered by law enforcement officers chose to pursue treatment (in-patient detox, inpatient treatment, intensive outpatient treatment, medically assisted treatment) and/or recovery support services.
“The Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Operation Helping Hand initiative is a multifaceted approach utilizing both arrest and non-arrest models which have been previously successful in other counties throughout the state,” Robertson said in a statement.
Officials said plans on conducting at a minimal four pre-planned proactive operations which will be conducted this year between January and August. During each phase, officials said Somerset County law enforcement officers intend to proactively connect with county residents suffering with substance use disorders and linking them to treatment and/or recovery support services during each encounter.
“Phase one of the initiative focused on community outreach concentrating efforts on known at risk individuals,” Robertson said. “The Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office worked closely with the New Jersey State Police Drug Monitoring Initiative (DMI) in the furtherance of identifying potential Somerset County residents who have a known struggle with addiction.”
The New Jersey State Police monitors drug activity through the DMI. The DMI, through the collection and analysis of drug seizures, overdoses, criminal behavior, and healthcare-related services, is aimed to enable law enforcement and public health experts to better understand trends, patterns, implications, and threats to prevent drug misuse and abuse, and to mitigate community drug harms.
The county prosecutor also said that on Jan. 4, members of the prosecutor’s office organized crime and narcotics task force, along with members of Somerset County Department of Human Services, Recovery Support Specialists from Reach for Recovery (R4R) Program from Richard Hall Community Mental Health Center, conducted a door-to-door outreach of known residents with substance use disorders.
“Recovery Support Specialists proactively engaged Somerset County’s residents in need providing on-the-spot referrals to treatment and other resources,” Robertson said. “During the operation, the team facilitated one-to-one contact with 17 households establishing 16 positive connections to residents and/or their families.”
Robertson and Fodor request that anyone seeking these professional services offered to reach out to the Reach for Recovery (R4R) Program at the Richard Hall Community Mental Health Center, (Recovery Support Specialists) at 908-253-3119 and mention the Operation Helping Hand program or the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Helping Hand coordinator at 908-231-7100 or make a report via the STOPit app.