By Allison Perrine
MONMOUTH COUNTY – The county has launched a “stigma-free” website to support residents with behavioral health illnesses and substance abuse disorders.
Presented by the Monmouth County Board of Chosen Freeholders in collaboration with the Division of Behavioral Health, stigmafree-monmouth.org now provides visitors with statistics about mental health and overdose deaths as well as resources for those struggling to find help and support.
“In 2019 there were 3,021 overdose deaths in New Jersey; 187 of these overdoses occurred in Monmouth County,” said Susan M. Kiley, freeholder deputy director and liaison to the Division of Behavioral Health. She added that since Jan. 1 of this year, there have been at least 1,339 overdose deaths in the state – 85 of them in Monmouth County – and that one in five Americans will be impacted by mental health issues.
“This movement has been gaining momentum and the launch of the stigma-free website helps advocate awareness and education about this notable health concern,” said Kiley. “A negative stigma towards those with this illness or substance use is toxic to the individual’s mental health. Stigmas are 100 percent curable. Monmouth County residents need to be kind and have empathy towards those with behavioral health illnesses and encourage them to seek treatment.”
The announcement of the website came Sept. 1, a day after International Overdose Awareness Day Aug. 31. The goal is to make others aware of the overdose death toll, find ways to prevent overdose deaths and to reduce the stigma that surrounds drug-related deaths. Several towns in the Two River area honored the day. Some passed resolutions of support. Others also made physical displays of support, including Middletown Township, which had dozens of purple flags on display outside waving in the wind in front of borough hall to represent and honor individuals lost to overdoses.
Middletown resident Nikki Tierney shared her struggles with addiction with The Two River Times and the challenges that resulted from it. She is now nearly 12 years sober and counting.
At the age of 14, Tierney perforated her stomach and needed life-saving surgery. She was sent home with strong narcotic pain medicine that her parents were told to give to her every four hours. The same happened after she tore her meniscus playing sports and after a dog attack that required reconstructive surgery – strong painkillers. Then, as a young teen, she started experimenting with alcohol. That’s how she developed a severe substance use disorder, she said.
“We weren’t warned of the dangers,” she said. “I was always on some type of pill.”
However, she didn’t know that she had a problem at first. She was an all-state basketball and soccer player, received a full scholarship to college, had above a 4.0 GPA. That wasn’t the way she pictured an addict.
“I couldn’t be an alcoholic. I couldn’t be a drug addict…I didn’t even know women had those problems,” she said. “It helped foster my denial for a long time. And then the other
part of it was the embarrassment, the guilt, the shame. I couldn’t, as a productive member of society, admit that I needed help.”
Even later on, in her earlier years as a mother, Tierney struggled and questioned how she would go away to rehab. A mother of four children, she questioned, “What kind of moth- er has a drug problem?”
Tierney was saved twice by Narcan, used to treat narcotic overdoses, and she said she is “fully aware that it was happenstance.” She promised her parents to never forget that and to always share her story until the stigma is gone.
Mayor Tony Perry said Aug. 31 that he is inspired by individuals like Tierney who have helped him better understand the struggles of addiction. “We remember the 99 lives we lost in Monmouth County this year,” Perry said. “We must work to end the stigma of drug addiction and raise awareness surrounding substance abuse.”
This article was originally printed in the Sept. 10-16 issue of The Two River Times.
