New Drug Counseling Services, Alcohol Support Group Coming To East Windsor

EAST WINDSOR TOWNSHIP, NJ — A local substance abuse initiative supported by the county is coming to East Windsor. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Support for individuals and families, provided by Family Guidance Center, will be available for local residents beginning Tuesday, Oct. 3, township officials announced during the township-sponsored “Knock Out Opioid” Town Hall Monday night.

Professional services will be available to residents in East Windsor and Hightstown, as the two towns share the East Windsor Regional School District. They will be offered at the Western Monmouth County YMCA facility, located at 230 Mercer Street (Route 33) in Hightstown. The agency’s clinician will be available from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesdays, and from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Thursdays, with an appointment. To make an appointment, call 609-731-2461.

“This new anti-substance abuse initiative which provides professional clinical services based right here in our community is an exciting highly needed step forward in making available local options to assist local individuals at risk,” East Windsor Mayor Janice S. Mironov said. “As so many individuals and families are and will be impacted by opiate abuse and addiction, it is important to offer professional support and resources in efforts to effectively address these mental health and substance abuse issues and situations.

“We are extremely grateful to the Mercer County Department of Human Services for their on-going advocacy and support in identifying start-up funding and the needed steps to launch this important pro-active initiative. My thanks to the Western Monmouth YMCA and their CEO Cynthia Joy for enthusiastically stepping forward as a partner in housing this project. I also want to recognize and applaud the many concerned local citizens and parents who have made their voices heard and joined together with us at several meetings to push for implementation of these vital professional services and other support opportunities. And I urge them to remain pro-active as we have much work ahead of us to make these new service efforts widely known and successfully utilized and thereafter build on these initial steps to further serve the needs of our community.”

Additionally, a regular program titled “Parenting Wisely, by Mercer Council on Alcoholism and Drug Addiction (MCADA)” will offer weekly sessions beginning Wednesday, Oct. 4. These sessions are “geared to increase parental communications and coping mechanisms for those with children who are at risk or exhibiting behavioral problems.” To register, call 609-396-5874, ext. 209.

Family Guidance Center will host an Open House at the new offices at the Western Monmouth County YMCA building at 230 Mercer Street on Wednesday, Oct. 11, 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. This event offers an opportunity to meet the staff, tour the facilities and obtain information and answers to questions concerning these new local initiatives and programs. The mayor strongly urged “people to stop by and become informed about the new programs, so we can best refer those at risk and in need and make valuable use of these new resources.”

Monday night’s town hall program also included panels and presentations that provided an overview of the epidemic seen through public health and law enforcement perspectives, overview of responses through prevention strategies and legislative approaches, and challenges to treatment and recovery, as well as information on local East Windsor initiatives.

Speakers included: Mironov; Mercer County Prosecutor Angelo Onofri; Tammy Leigh, Manager of Emergency Services, RWJ./Barnabas Health Systems; Assemblyman Daniel Benson; Barbara Sprechman, Prevention Coalition of Mercer County; John Mincarelli, Recovery Advocates and Joel Pomles, NJ Addiction Recovery Public Advocacy Program. The public participated in a Q & A following the speakers.

The Town Hall was moderated by East Windsor Council Member Peter Yeager, Coordinator of the East Windsor Municipal Alliance for the Prevention of Substance Abuse. It was sponsored by East Windsor Township, Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office, Mercer Council on Alcohol and Drug Abuse, East Windsor Municipal Alliance for the Prevention of Substance Abuse, and the Prevention Coalition of Mercer County.

Patch file photo