Morris County Sheriff's Office's Hope One Vehicle Travels To Wayne To Support 'The Brian Project'

Published on February 23, 2019

Aware that drug addiction has no borders, the Morris County Sheriff's Office's Hope One vehicle traveled to Wayne Friday, February 22, in support of a fundraiser for The Brian Project, a non-profit created in memory of a Lake Hiawatha man who died in 2018 of a heroin overdose.

Morris County Sheriff's Office Corporal Erica Valvano, Morris County Sheriff James M. Gannon, Stephanie Intrabartolo, Certified Peer Recovery Specialist Alton Robinson at The Brian Project fundraiser on Feb. 22, 2019.

Stephanie Intrabartolo founded The Brian Project - an acronym for Believe Recovery Is A Necessity - in honor of her son, Brian Richard Diaz, who struggled to overcome heroin addiction but tragically died of an overdose at the age of 27 on May 23, 2018, after eight months of sobriety.

The Brian Project held its first fundraiser, a beefsteak dinner, on Feb. 22, at the Wayne PAL building. The project's goals are to fund scholarships for people coping with addiction and provide resources and education about substance abuse. Morris County Sheriff James M. Gannon, Sheriff's Office Corporal Erica Valvano, the coordinator of Hope One, and Alton Robinson, a certified peer recovery specialist, attended the fundraiser.

"I was honored, as was the Hope One staff, to be part of The Brian Project fundraiser held in recognition of a vibrant young life lost to drug addiction. Just as Hope One is, The Brian Project is committed to helping others recover from and avoid addiction," Sheriff Gannon said.

Morris County Sheriff James M. Gannon speaks at The Brian Project fundraiser in Wayne on Feb. 22, 2019.

Sheriff Gannon launched the Hope One mobile substance abuse resource and recovery program on April 3, 2017, as a way of bringing critical recovery services to communities. Hope One, which was replicated in Newark in December, parks twice a week at Morris County locations to offer Narcan training, mental health and addiction resources, and access to detox and substance abuse treatment.

Hope One has had more than 6,000 contacts with individuals since it launched, and has documented at least 31 lives saved through its onboard Narcan training.

The Morris County Sheriff's Office's Hope One mobile substance abuse recovery and resource vehicle at The Brian Project fundraiser on Feb. 22, 2019, in Wayne, NJ.