Stigma Free Morris: Victory Gardens and Dover to Host Opiates-Addictions Forum on April 28

Published on April 23, 2018

"Combatting the Opiate and Heroin Epidemic''

A special forum on opioids and addiction, sponsored by Victory Gardens and neighboring Dover, will held on Saturday, April 28, at the Garden Chapel in Victory Gardens. It will feature leaders from law enforcement and treatment and recovery programs in our region, and includes a stop by the Hope One van.

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Victory Gardens Mayor David Holeman Jr. and Dover Mayor James P. Dodd have invited residents of both communities, as well as neighboring towns, to attend the free program, which is scheduled to run from from 12 noon to 3 p.m at the Garden Chapel, located at 89 Washington Avenue in Victory Gardens.

Doors to the event, which is being held in Stigma-Free Morris County, will open at 11:30 a.m. for a resource fair. Free Naxalone (Narcan) training will be availabe for attendees, who will learn how to employ this life-saving tool.

Children's activities will be available during the entire program, while parents attend the session.

Freeholder Kathy DeFillippo Freeholder Kathy DeFillippo

"We thank officials in Victory Gardens and Dover for understanding the need for all of our towns to be active partners in the countywide effort to deal with the opioid epidemic and mental illness, '' said Morris County Freeholder Kathy DeFillippo. We urge all residents to attend this important session on Saturday because we have learned, unfortunately, that no town or community or family is immune from these problems.''

Speakers will include:

  • 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.

(JPG, 7KB) Sheriff James M. Gannon

Both Victory Gardens and Dover are members of the countywide Stigma-Free initiative, which that aims to help eradicate the stigma associated with mental illness and substance abuse disorders.

"The Stigma-Free initiative is much needed in our community and throughout Morris County,'' Victory Gardens Mayor David L. Holeman said after his borough council last month passed a Stigma-Free resolution. We can extend our hand out to someone in need, who can grab it and get the help he or she needs.''

To truly change the way society views individuals with substance abuse and mental illness disorders we must change our language, attitude and be more compassionate, said Dover Mayor James P. Dodd, when his town joined the Stigma-Free movement last year. Regardless of the spectrum, we all know or have people in our lives who face these challenges.

Morris County has created a Stigma Free website www.morriscountystigmafree.org to call attention to the initiative, provide information and resources, and a calendar of upcoming events related to mental illness and substance abuse.

Stigma-Free Morris County poster(PNG, 12KB)For more information on the April 28 event, please contact Victory Gardens Administrator Deborah Evans at 973-366-5312 or email to gardensvg@optonline.net

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

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

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

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