County Announces Appointees to Addiction Awareness Task Force

A total of 14 people have been appointed to the recently established Addiction Awareness Task Force, Camden County Freeholders announced on Friday.

They were appointed by the Freeholder Board, which was formed to assist them n promoting awareness, education and resources in Camden County.

“The task force is made up of students, parents, teachers, civic organizations, medical professionals, public health providers, law enforcement and religious leaders – just to name a few” Camden County Freeholder Director Louis Cappelli, Jr. said. “We did not limit who comprises the task force since this is an issue that touches every area of our community.”

The task force will be charged with increasing awareness of prescription opiate and heroin abuse and addiction, aimed at reducing the demand for heroin and prescription drugs.

They will also assist in the creation of programs to help educate residents of the resources available to prevent and treat addiction, and support the development of additional resources to end the abuse of heroin and prescription drugs.

The idea of a task force was first broached during a summit in Collingswood in May, as part of a group of initiatives aimed at raising awareness.

“The task force members will serve as liaisons to state and local community awareness groups as well as non-profit groups and drug addiction service providers,” Cappelli said. “As an elected official opiate addiction is one of my biggest concerns.”

Heroin and opiates have become a growing public safety and health crisis creating devastating effects on the region, the state and the nation in the last five years.

These narcotics are ubiquitous in every community in Camden County and usage is on the rise. In a two-hour period in March this year the county saw 15 heroin overdoses.

“As a county we know that no one is immune to the addiction of opiates and the task force will focus on prevention and treatment as two main themes,” Cappelli said. “Furthermore, the Philadelphia region has been identified by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration as a main hub for heroin distribution in the Mid-Atlantic States.”

New Jersey data shows a steady rise in prescription drug abuse in recent years. There were 8,300 admissions to state-certified substance-abuse treatment programs due to prescription drug abuse in 2012, a 200 percent increase over the previous five years, according to the task force report.

The complete list of county residents appointed to the task force is as follows:

Michelle Azam of Haddonfield, healthcare representative

Mary Boyle of Springfield PA, religious organization representative

Patti DiRenzo of Gloucester Township, parent representative

Jen DiStefano of Williamstown, public schools representative

Linda Dombrowski of Cherry Hill, youth organization representative

Chief Harry Earle of Gloucester Township, law enforcement representative

Anthony Leone of Maple Shade, private school representative

William Lynch of Cherry Hill, healthcare representative

Father John Stabeno of Winslow Township, religious representative

Rabbi Lawrence Sernovitz of Cherry Hill, religious representative

Bob Wahlquist of Mt. Laurel, business representative

Chief Christopher Winters, Pine Hill, law enforcement representative

John Pellicane of Pennsauken, county addiction representative

Dr. Maureen Reusche of Cherry Hill, public schools representative