Camden County to fight, study overdose and substance use disorder with new grant funding

(Gloucester Township, NJ) – The New Jersey Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services and the State Department of Health recently awarded two grants to help fund programs aimed at reducing fatal overdoses in Camden County. The grants total approximately $290,000 and will be used to address and study opioid abuse.

The Camden County Office of Mental Health and Addiction was awarded a $190,000 innovation grant to cover the cost of medical visits, buprenorphine, case management and transportation for persons who are uninsured. The program is geared towards members of the reentry population and those who are unable to immediately obtain insurance.

“These grants will continue to assist us in expanding our vision of treatment, education and ending the stigma around substance use disorder,” said Freeholder Director Louis Cappelli, Jr. “This ongoing public health crisis has not subsided and, in fact, has been exasperated by COVID, so expanding our work is vital to our mission.”

To be eligible, residents must have no other means of obtaining treatment. Treatment through the program will be provided by ARS Crossroads in Pennsauken.

The Office has also received $100,000 to create an Overdose Fatality Review Team (OFRT).  The team will consist of the Camden County Prosecutor’s Office, Camden County Medical Examiner, local health systems and treatment centers, probation, parole, harm reduction experts, law enforcement, and other key stakeholders who will convene over the course of one year to review approximately 45 fatalities in great detail.

“We cannot allow the scourge of opioid abuse to continue destroying families, ruining futures, and taking the lives of innocent members of our community,” Cappelli said. “While ensuring that treatment is accessible to everyone, these grants will also enable our team to study fatal overdoses more closely with the hope of discovering new and innovative solutions to this crisis.”

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the Camden County Addiction Awareness Task Force, Department of Health and Human Services, Camden County Jail and Office of Mental Health and Addiction, have continued to work collaboratively and with external partners to combat the opioid crisis and fight addiction.

For more information about these or any other mental health or substance abuse programs please contact the Office of Mental Health & Addiction at (856) 374-6320.