Integrity House Rolls Out Mobile ‘Recovery Van’ In Essex County

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — A New Jersey nonprofit that helps people recover from substance abuse and addiction is rolling out a new “mobile recovery center” that will visit towns across Essex County.

Integrity House’s Reach for Recovery van will be making stops in Caldwell, West Caldwell, Bloomfield, West Orange, Montclair, Irvington, Orange and East Orange. Visits will take place on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

For more information on the Reach for Recovery program and a schedule of the designated stops, click here.

Integrity House also runs programs in Newark, Kearny, Secaucus, Toms River, Morris Plains and Paramus.

Some of the services that will be administered through the mobile service are:

• Substance use assessment with Medicated Assisted Treatment (MAT) consultation
• Health and wellness screenings
• Care coordination
• Narcan distribution
• Community resource sharing

The nonprofit’s Reach for Recovery team includes an addiction specialist (LCADC or CADC), an LPN who will complete basic medical screening, a peer recovery specialist to provide support, and a prevention specialist to provide education.

Since the launch of the program in November, the team has made connections with nearly 350 community members, performed 61 substance use disorder screenings, and referred six people to a withdrawal management program.

The recovery team follows proper mask usage and safety policies to prevent the potential spread of COVID-19, Integrity House stated.

Hopefully, the mobile program will help uninsured, underinsured and those with gaps in their health insurance to get the help and support they need, the nonprofit said.

“Having provided substance use disorder services in the Essex County community for over 50 years, we are extremely excited to offer this new program,” said Robert Budsock, CEO of Integrity House.

“We now know that sometimes seeking effective treatment is not always the easiest option or even an option at all, especially in the current economic and health climate we are in as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Budsock said. “With the mobile recovery center, we are removing barriers and increasing access to care in an effort to reach more of our community’s vulnerable individuals by bringing services and treatment directly to them.”

• See related article: Integrity House Gets $4M To Expand Footprint In Newark, Essex County

This story is part of Patch's Headlining Hope series, which profiles local nonprofits and charitable organizations in need of volunteers and resources. If you know about a local organization that should be profiled, contact eric.kiefer@patch.com

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