The HOPE One Monmouth Mobile Unit, an innovative, leading approach to combating the opioid epidemic in Monmouth County, was unveiled in Asbury Park Tuesday on National Night Out.

Sheriff Shaun Golden along with Prosecutor Chris Gramiccioni and drug recovery specialists are providing HOPE, to those suffering from addiction with the addition of this Mobile Unit and what better place than to unveil it on National Night Out.

What is does is it will travel into communities several times a week, staffed with a sheriff’s officer, a certified peer recovery specialist and a licensed clinician.

They will then connect individuals with substance use disorder and family members to immediate services, treatment facilities and Naloxone training.

“The heroin epidemic remains one of the most important crises law enforcement in Monmouth County must conquer and HOPE One will be a vital asset, as we continue to lead the way in the fight against drug abuse,” Golden said. “This mobile outreach component, the first of its kind in Monmouth County, will lead to a path of recovery. Instead of individuals who are struggling with addiction coming to us, we travel to them, meet one on one, and offer services and options which will help combat drug overdoses and deaths.”

HOPE One, which is dressed with a purple ribbon on the outside of the Mobile Unity is a symbol of recovery.

There have been startling 114 overdose deaths so far in 2018 in Monmouth County, with 84 of them being heroin related.

“HOPE One is a great example of the outside-the-box thinking that we need to help those in dire need of assistance,”Gramiccioni said. “A mobile assistance unit brings another vital resource to our communities when we cannot rely on drug abuse to stop at town boundaries. This presents us with a vital opportunity to reach a person that may not otherwise have the ability to take the first step towards addiction treatment.”

Representatives from Hackensack Meridian Health, Carrier Clinic, NJ Reentry Corp, Mainstream Recovery, Ocean Mental Health Services and Behavioral Wellness and Recovery are assisting in providing the much needed recovery services for individuals.

“This great approach to combatting drug abuse is a partnership and commitment formed between law enforcement and substance abuse recovery specialists, who both share a common goal,” John Brogan CEO Lifeline Recovery Support Services, said. “That is to address the deadly problem of addiction in our communities, and save lives by securing a path to healthier and sober living.”

The Monmouth County Sheriff’s Office’s 32 feet long mobile outreach unit was once the Communications Division’s Field Communications truck and utilized for large-scale incidents and community events.

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