By Stephen Appezzato
RED BANK – A groundbreaking mobile care unit is up and running, offering harm reduction services to those in need across Monmouth County.
Prevention Resource Network’s (PRN) mobile Harm Reduction Center is now traveling among eight local municipalities – Red Bank, Eatontown, Keansburg, Keyport, Long Branch, Asbury Park, Brick and Toms River – delivering effective care and treatment for people who use substances.
Those staffing the unit offer trauma-informed care, working to understand a patient’s needs and life experiences and acknowledge their history of trauma while giving support without stigma.
The mobile unit allows those who use substances to access naloxone – a life-saving drug that counters opioid overdoses – sterile syringes, wound treatment and other supplies without judgment. Additionally, the unit assists with the safe disposal of used syringes and offers guidance for drug use treatment and support for “essential needs.”
Shannon Preston, director of HIV community services at the VNA Health Group said the mobile unit is a “significant step for- ward towards compassionate, effective support and enhanced quality of life for individuals living with drug-related challenges.”
According to the state Attorney General’s office, from Jan. 1 to Aug. 31, there were 1,790 suspected overdose deaths in New Jersey; 151 of these deaths occurred in Monmouth County. A little over 10,000 Naloxone doses were administered in that same timeframe statewide.
Data from the Centers for Disease Control attributes nearly 1 million deaths to drug overdoses over the past 21 years nationally, with a growing annual mortality rate.
The mobile harm reduction unit aims to lower the mortality rate in Monmouth County by providing life-saving care for those most likely to overdose. The new unit was the first harm reduction site approved in New Jersey in five years, demonstrating a growing strategy to combat the drug epidemic. It was first announced on International Overdose Awareness Day Aug. 31.
PRN’s manager of harm reduction services Cole Zaccaro said the rollout of the mobile unit represents a “transformation” of the perception toward those affected by substance use, as well as strategies deployed to care for them.
“We have already recognized a profound impact on the individual lives and on the overall fabric of our communities,” Zaccaro said.
PRN, the unit operator, is a program of the Visiting Nurse Association (VNA) Children and Family Health Institute and the VNA of Central Jersey. According to the organization, PRN provides a range of services – like overdose prevention and low-threshold treatment – to those not ready or willing to seek more substantial substance abuse treatment. The goal of PRN and its new mobile unit is to “keep people safe and minimize death and injury from high-risk behavior,” according to a release.
The article originally appeared in the December 14 – December 20, 2023 print edition of The Two River Times.
