4th Round Of Operation Helping Hand Launches In Burlington County

Burlington County’s “Operation Helping Hand” has been re-initiated, Burlington County Prosecutor Scott Coffina announced on Monday. Over the next four months, certified recovery specialists available around the clock to those who are struggling with substance use amid the outbreak of new coronavirus.

The program offers help to anyone who has just been reversed from an overdose, arrested on a disorderly persons offense related to substance use, or is known to be facing addiction and is open to getting help.

“It is critical that treatment services continue to be available during this public health crisis,” Coffina said. “With the multiple additional pressures that COVID-19 and the ongoing restrictions on our activities bring to people facing addiction, we are seeing an uptick in overdoses, including fatal overdoses, throughout Burlington County. While the news is filled with headlines and stories about what is closed, we want to remind everyone that treatment options remain available to people in need.”

New Jersey Coronavirus Updates: Don't miss local and statewide announcements about novel coronavirus precautions. Sign up for Patch alerts and daily newsletters.

Operation Helping Hand is a statewide effort that helps those battling addiction find recovery services. Those seeking help can call 877-266-8222.

As part of the program, municipal police officers request the services of recovery specialists when the come across someone they believe would benefit from treatment or support services.

Recovery specialists will not force participants to enter a treatment program, but can assist with that process for those who are seeking those services.

During the coronavirus pandemic, the program will take place via telephone in May. However, the prosecutor’s office believes that recovery specialists will be able to respond to the scene, police station, or hospital to connect with the person in need of help beginning in June and running through the summer.

In Burlington County, the fourth round of the program began May 1 and runs through Aug. 31, according to the prosecutor’s office, which works with the nonprofit City of Angels on the program.

In February, they completed a 24/7 recovery specialist availability program that resulted in nearly a third of participants seeking treatment and 60 percent accepting coaching services, according to the prosecutor’s office.

They also held a weeklong training program to expand the number of recovery specialists available for peer support in Burlington County.

Narcotics Anonymous and Alcoholics Anonymous are also offering virtual meetings by phone or computer.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration has put together a list of resources currently available. For more information, click here. For a list of hotlines in Burlington County, visit this link.

The New Jersey Office of the Attorney General will host a virtual town hall to share more resources at noon on May 7. Register here.

Operation Helping Hand launched in Bergen County, where law enforcement officers arrested users purchasing heroin and other narcotics at open-air drug markets. When the users were brought to the police station or prosecutor's office for processing on narcotics possession charges, recovery specialists and other healthcare partners were waiting to connect them with treatment and recovery services.

Operation Helping Hand is one of three Burlington County Prosecutor's Office initiatives aimed at combating the opioid epidemic.

Operation Safe Overnight focuses on saving lives and increasing enforcement activity at hotels and motels that have experienced overdoses and drug-related criminal activity.

Through this program, with the support of Virtua Health, the Burlington County Prosecutor's Office has provided Narcan to county hotels and has also trained hotel employees how to use it to reverse an overdose and save a person's life.

Straight … to Treatment is a program that allows people to walk off the street and into police stations in three municipalities to seek treatment for drug addiction, regardless of whether they are insured or live in Burlington County.

It was introduced in Evesham in early 2018 and later expanded to Pemberton and Burlington City.

See related: NJ Coronavirus Updates: Here's What You Need To Know