Somerset Patriots to host addiction awareness and recovery event this weekend
BRIDGEWATER – Everybody needs a helping hand now and then.
TD Bank Ballpark, home of the Somerset Patriots, on Saturday will host Operation Helping Hand's second annual Overdose Awareness and Recovery Event to raise awareness of addiction and to honor the individuals whose lives have been lost to the disease.
Saturday's event is a collaboration of the Somerset and Warren counties' prosecutor's offices.
Participating in the event are the following community groups: Community in Crisis of Bernardsville, EmPower Somerset – Pioneer Family Success Center of Somerville, Parent to Parent Addiction Services of Washington Borough, Prevention Links of Roselle, Recovery Centers of America, Somerset County Department of Human Services, Somerset Treatment Services and The Greater Raritan Workforce Board – Pathways to Recovery.
New Jersey State Department of Human Services, Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services, has donated naloxone kits to be distributed toon those who are at-risk of an opioid overdose or will be in a position to administer the antidote to a person experiencing an overdose.
Operation Helping Hand is a program where law enforcement identifies individuals with substance use disorders and works with community partners to provide a point of entry for those individuals into treatment and recovery support services.
Also see:Career assistance available for those impacted by the opioid epidemic
Through personal outreach, Operation Helping Hand's goal is to have law enforcement officers, accompanied by recovery support specialists, engage residents by providing on-the-spot referrals to treatment programs and other resources.
Former New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal developed Operation Helping Hand as an innovative way to combat opioid addiction in Bergen County where he was county prosecutor in 2016.
When Grewal became attorney general, Operation Helping Hand was launched in five counties in June 2018. With federal and state funds, the program was expanded to 17 counties in September 2018, and to all 21 counties in September 2019.
Somerset County Prosecutor John McDonald said anyone seeking addiction services can call Somerset County's Operation Helping Hand at 908-393-8888, visit its website or email ohh@co.somerset.nj.us.
The Somerset Patriots will play the New Hampshire Fisher Cats at 7:05 p.m. Fireworks will follow the game.
Email: mdeak@mycentraljersey.com
Mike Deak is a reporter for mycentraljersey.com. To get unlimited access to his articles on Somerset and Hunterdon counties, please subscribe or activate your digital account.
This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: Somerset Patriots to host addiction awareness, recovery event
