Trenton Health Team and local community-based organizations offer a variety of life-saving and life-improving resources to substance users.
Trenton-area residents who use drugs can draw on several resources that reduce the risks of substance use and increase their quality of life, connection to loved ones and likelihood of eventually obtaining treatment that works for them.
Those resources are offered by a coalition of Mercer County organizations that have joined with the nonprofit Trenton Health Team to provide a comprehensive approach to harm reduction. The Mercer County government plays a major role in the effort by providing naloxone kits for reversing opioid overdoses, training on how to use the potentially life-saving medication, and funding for an Overdose Fatality Review Team (OFRT) that analyzes overdose deaths to identify effective preventative measures.
Trenton Health Team and local community-based organizations offer a variety of life-saving and life-improving resources to substance users. “These services are available without judgment, without any requirement that a person makes a commitment to stop using drugs or alcohol, and without regard to a person’s insurance status or ability to pay. Our goal is to meet people ‘where they are’ in their lives and to provide the resources they need to be safe and healthy,” said Cheryl Towns, BSN, RN, Chief Community Care Officer for Trenton Health Team.
The many services offered as part of this harm-reduction initiative are varied and often are tailored to the specific needs of particular groups of people. Similarly, the agencies participating in the effort play different roles based on their missions and capabilities, but coordinate closely with one another to provide people with comprehensive resources and assistance that includes:
- new, sterile syringes for people who inject drugs, which are provided by the Hyacinth AIDS Foundation;
- naloxone, a life-saving drug that can reverse an opioid overdose when given promptly; and,
- counseling for people who are concerned that they are drinking more than they want to but who also don’t want to give up alcohol altogether.
Trenton Health Team and its partners implement the harm reduction approach of ‘meeting people where they are’ literally as well as figuratively.
Ann Dorocki, Deputy Director of the Mercer County Department of Human Services, explained that in response to a rising number of opioid overdose deaths, the county government in 2020 organized the Overdose Fatality Review Team and engaged with the Trenton Health Team and its partner agencies to explore appropriate responses.
The county recognized that the best means of addressing this crisis was to draw on the expertise and experience of organizations with a long history of serving county residents experiencing substance use disorders and addiction. The county’s elected leaders understand that substance use disorder does not exist in a vacuum, and that it often is accompanied by mental health issues and by financial hardship. “We realize that responding effectively requires a whole-person approach that enlists the capabilities of a number of organizations who know the people, know the challenges and who have a track record of providing meaningful, services,” County Executive Brian M. Hughes said.
Statistics on suspected overdose deaths demonstrate the urgent need for these services. Data provided by the New Jersey Department of Law and Public Safety show that such deaths more than tripled in Mercer County in recent years, from 44 in 2014 to 138 in 2021, the last year for which complete statistics are available.1 The problem, of course, is not unique to Mercer County. The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that an estimated 80,816 people nationwide died of overdoses involving opioids in 2021,2 while the state government reports that suspected opioid overdoses resulted in 2,647 deaths across New Jersey in the first 11 months of 2022.3
Towns said that Trenton Health Team and its partners are uniquely positioned to deliver the services that can help reduce those numbers. “Trenton Health Team (THT) was established as an innovative, multi-sector partnership to support the health and well-being of the greater Trenton community. As a community partner, we support each other’s efforts in stopping the opioid epidemic. As one of New Jersey’s four Regional Health Hubs (RHH), we support the public health functions of the City of Trenton and Mercer County,” she said. The nurse and long-time community health advocate added, “We maintain the Health Information Exchange (HIE) patient data platform, work one-on-one with community members through our Care Management Team and provide data and analytics capacity for public health decisions. One of our critical roles is as a backbone/integrator for our region: we convene 100 organizations through our Community Advisory Board (CAB), and support working groups through which stakeholders address regional health priorities like the pandemic response, diabetes, maternal health and food access. The establishment of the Mercer County OFRT in 2020 has allowed us to collaborate with other stakeholders, who all share the love for well-being for the people in the City of Trenton.”
A harm reduction approach, which offers pragmatic, compassionate solutions supported by a wealth of evidence, involves practical efforts to protect and save lives.
Choosing What Works: Rejecting Stigma and Judgment
Reducing deaths and the other harms that can result from substance use requires replacing rigid approaches that haven’t worked well with pragmatic, compassionate solutions supported by a wealth of evidence, said Jenna Mellor, who serves as executive director of the New Jersey Harm Reduction Coalition, one of the agencies partnering with Trenton Health Team.
“We have to unlearn a lot of the stigma that we’ve been taught about drug use and learn how to support one another nonjudgmentally,” Mellor said.
“Harm reduction is something we use every day in our lives. We do things all the time that involve risk. We drive cars. We have sex. We go on dates with people we haven’t met before. There is risk in everything in life. And we take steps to reduce those risks. We wear seatbelts. We use a condom or birth control. We text a friend to let them know where we’re going. We take all kinds of risk-reduction streps in our lives,” she said.
“When it comes to drug use and substance use disorder, harm reduction is no different. It says that there are risks with using drugs. There are risks of an overdose. There are risks of developing an addiction or substance use disorder. There are risks of acquiring HIV or hepatitis C or losing the quality of life that you want.”
Mellor explained that harm-reduction approaches seek to answer several key questions, such as: “‘How can we reduce your risk? How can we support you in your autonomy and your own choices? And how can we make sure that you stay alive and have a life full of satisfaction?’ We make it about the person, not the drug.”
The data supporting harm reduction are extensive and compelling, Mellor added. She said that, compared to other people who use drugs, if a person has access to a harm reduction program, “You are half as likely to acquire HIV, half as likely to acquire hepatitis C, five times more likely to choose a drug treatment option, and three times more likely to stop using a drug that causes issues in your life.”
Despite that evidence, harm-reduction efforts continue to be hampered by misconceptions that limit their use, said David DeCamp, a patient navigator for the New Jersey Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services (DMHAS) Mercer County Opioid Overdose Recovery Program (OORP) and director of Recovery Services for the Mercer Council on Alcoholism and Drug Addiction. “I believe there is an incorrect perception that harm reduction is simply enabling others to continue to use drugs in a destructive manner, when it is in fact a set of tools to keep actively-using clients alive and free of secondary health complications until they are ready to consider recovery,” he said. DeCamp speaks not only from the perspective of a patient navigator but also from his own experience as someone who struggled with alcoholism and addiction before nearly seven years of continuous recovery.
Practical Solutions to Real Challenges
DeCamp explained that far from being some “ivory tower” philosophy, harm reduction involves practical efforts to protect and save lives. “I consider harm reduction to be any activity that mitigates the inherent risks associated with active drug use or frequently occurring non-addiction behaviors and decision-making associated with an actively using ‘lifestyle’.” This includes syringe access programs (sometimes called needle exchanges) for people who inject drugs intravenously, DeCamp said. “Syringe exchange provides fresh needles for IV drug use, and eliminates many of the risks associated with damaged/shared needles including sexually transmitted infections, other infections and damaged veins,” he said, adding that providing opioid users with fentanyl testing strips is another important component of harm reduction. “Fentanyl testing strips identify the presence of fentanyl and pre-cursors/analogues in a drug sample or in a urine drug screen. They can be used to detect fentanyl — and avoid it — when it is not in an opiate drug such as cocaine or meth, and can also be used by users wishing to verify that they are in fact getting fentanyl in opioid purchases made illegally.”
Trenton Health Team and its partners implement the harm reduction approach of “meeting people where they are” literally as well as figuratively. The Rescue Mission of Trenton regularly dispatches a Mobile Recovery Services Unit — a van funded by the Mercer County Office on Addiction Services through a contract with the State of New Jersey Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services (DMHAS). The van distributes everything from naloxone to information on available resources to people dealing with substance use disorder. Towns explained that the unit also offers people, many of whom are experiencing homelessness, a Wellness Welcome Packet, access to an on-call licensed clinical alcohol and drug counselor, and linkage to other housing resources, social services and health care. Based on the rapport and trust the van’s staff have developed with people over time, several people served by the van have entered drug treatment programs.
The most immediate and most important goal of harm reduction, Mellor emphasized, is to keep people alive. After that, she said, the focus is on helping people improve their well-being in a nonjudgmental way that respects their autonomy. “When people have access to harm-reduction services, they are more likely to find drug treatment that works for them, less likely to acquire an infection like HIV or hepatitis C, and more likely to survive the overdose crisis,” she said.
How to Obtain Needed Services
As noted above, many Trenton-area social service agencies and other organizations are involved in the harm reduction effort, with each playing its own role and offering specific programs or resources. To learn more about how you or someone in your life can access the different harm reduction services available to area residents, contact:
- ReachNJ
844-REACHNJ
reachnj.gov - Catholic Charities, Diocese of Trenton
800-360-7711
catholiccharitiestrenton.org - Henry J. Austin Health Center
609-278-5900
henryjaustin.org - Hyacinth AIDS Foundation
609-396-832
hyacinth.org - Iron Recovery and Wellness Center
609-394-8988
ironwellness.org - Mercer Council on Alcoholism and Drug Addiction
609-396-5874
mercercouncil.org - Mercer County Department of Human Services
609-989-6526
mercercounty.org/departments/human-services - New Jersey Harm Reduction Coalition
njharmreduction.org
Call or text 877-4NARCAN - Rescue Mission of Trenton
609-695-1436
rescuemissionoftrenton.org - Trenton Health Team
609-256-4555
info@trentonhealthteam.org
trentonhealthteam.org
To learn more about how harm reduction tools can help Mercer County residents manage substance use disorder, watch this informative video replay of a NJ.com-hosted webinar featuring a coalition of Mercer County thought leaders from several local organizations. This virtual event was presented by Trenton Health Team and was designed to shed light on the number of resources available in Mercer County, New Jersey. Featured topics included information on how Trenton-area residents who use drugs can draw on local resources that help to reduce the risks of substance use and increase their quality of life.
References:
- NJCares.gov. Suspected drug related deaths, naloxone administrations and PMP data by county. Available at njoag.gov/programs/nj-cares/nj-cares-data-by-county. Accessed Jan. 10, 2023.
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. U.S. overdose deaths in 2021 increased half as much as in 2020 — but are still up 15%. May 11, 2022. Available at cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom/nchs_press_releases/2022/202205.htm. Accessed Jan. 10, 2023.
- NJCares.gov. Opioid-related data. Available at njoag.gov/programs/nj-cares. Accessed Jan. 12, 2023.
