Opioid Response 'Street Team' In Montclair Will Include Harm Reduction, Emergency Response

MONTCLAIR, NJ — The following news release comes courtesy of the Township of Montclair. Find out how to post announcements or events to your local Patch site.

Montclair Township has launched the Opioid Response Street Team (ORST), a new partnership between the Montclair Health Department, Montclair Ambulance Unit (MAU), and the Essex Health & Wellness Recovery Center that expands the Township's response to substance use disorder through street outreach, harm reduction, treatment navigation, and emergency response.

The program is funded through New Jersey's share of the national opioid settlements, which secured more than $50 billion from pharmaceutical manufacturers, distributors, and related companies to help communities address the opioid epidemic.

Montclair designed the program to ensure those funds are invested in expanding frontline services and creating lasting capacity to address substance use disorder. By bringing together emergency medical services (EMS), public health, and recovery professionals, the Township is strengthening its ability to connect people with treatment, recovery, and ongoing support.

The initiative builds on work already being done by the Montclair Ambulance Unit (MAU) and the Township Health Department. Since 2018, MAU crews have been working hand in hand with public health officials to respond to overdose emergencies, administer life-saving naloxone (Narcan), and to connect individuals with available resources. Until now, however, dedicated funding to expand those efforts into a coordinated outreach program had not been available.

"Saving a life is only the first step," said James Mazza, Chief of Montclair Ambulance Unit. "Over the years, our EMS crews and outreach partners have built relationships with people experiencing substance use disorder by showing up consistently and treating them with dignity. The Opioid Response Street Team builds on that trust by giving us the resources to stay engaged beyond the emergency, connect people with treatment and recovery services, and help break the cycle instead of simply responding to it."

The Opioid Response Street Team includes two coordinated services:

Community Outreach Street Team

Operating every Monday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., outreach staff engage individuals experiencing or at risk of substance use disorder, providing harm reduction education, naloxone, referrals to detoxification and treatment programs, and connections to recovery, behavioral health, housing, and other support services. The outreach team builds on relationships already established through years of engagement in the community.

Mobile Response Unit

The program also includes a dedicated EMS response unit that can be deployed to support substance use-related incidents, providing a specialized resource that complements traditional emergency medical services while strengthening coordination between EMS, the Health Department, and recovery professionals.

"Recovery begins with trust," said Robin Lavorato, Executive Director of the Essex Health & Wellness Recovery Center. "Many individuals living with substance use disorder have experienced trauma, stigma, and barriers to accessing care. By meeting people where they are, building relationships over time, and connecting them with compassionate support, we create opportunities for recovery that simply don’t happen through emergency response alone."

The Essex Health & Wellness Recovery Center is based in Montclair and provides detox and treatment referrals, recovery guides, support groups, and educational workshops for adolescents, adults, and their families.

The Township Health Department hopes that the Opioid Response Street Team will help to reduce repeat overdoses, improve access to treatment for individuals who are both housed and unhoused, and help break the cycle of substance use by ensuring individuals remain connected to care beyond a single emergency intervention.

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