Wharton Hosts Parents' Opioids and Addictions Forum on March 29

Published on February 07, 2018

A special "Parent's Forum " on opioids and addiction, and related topics will be held in Wharton Borough on Thursday evening, March 29, and will feature leaders from law enforcement and treatment and recovery programs in our region.

The free program, sponsored by the Wharton Municipal Alliance and the Wharton Police Department, is scheduled to start at 7 p.m. at the MacKinnon Middle School, located at 137 East Central Ave, Wharton, N.J. 07885.

This event, which is being held by Stigma-Free Morris County, is open to anyone who is age 18 or older.

Speakers will include:

  • Morris County Prosecutor Fredric M. Knapp;
  • Morris County Chief Assistant Prosecutor Brad Seabury, who will discuss the heroin/opiate epidemic in Morris County;
  • Morris County Sheriff James M. Gannon, who will discuss recovery efforts now available through the Sheriff's Office and the Hope One initiative. He also will bring the Sheriff's Hope One van to the event.

Also on hand will be representatives of:

  • Rockaway Borough-based CARES (Center for Addiction Recovery, Education & Success), to inform parents about addiction and recovery services;
  • Morris County Juvenile Corrections, to discuss gangs and the juvenile participation in gangs;
  • Deirdre's House, to discuss sexting, photo sharing, and human trafficking.

"The Borough of Wharton and it's Municipal Alliance is once again taking the lead in offering a program to help educate our parents and residents to the dangers and realities of destructive social endeavors that not only affect their families but our communities and society as a whole,'' said Wharton Mayor Bill Chegwidden.

"We truly hope people will take the time to come out and educate themselves on the dangers of opioids, addiction and recovery, sexting, photos sharing and human trafficking. "

"We thank officials in Wharton, especially the Alliance and Police Department, for being active partners in the countywide effort to deal with the opioid epidemic and mental illness, " said Morris County Freeholder Kathy DeFillippo. "We urge all parents to attend this important session because we have learned, unfortunately, that no family is immune from these problems. "

For more information on the March 29 event, please contact Wharton Deputy Clerk Robin Ghebreal at 9730-361-8444 ext. 2710 or rghebreal@whartonnj.com

For information on Sheriff Gannon's Hope One program, visit: https://sheriff.morriscountynj.gov/community/hope-one/

For information on Morris CARES, visit: https://morris.caresnj.org//

For information on Morris County's Stigma Free initiative, visit: https://morriscountystigmafree.org/

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