Recovery Center Opens Amid Uptick In Burlington County OD Deaths

BURLINGTON COUNTY, NJ — Burlington County has opened a Recovery Center to better help residents get the treatment and other critical mental health and community support they need for their recovery from addiction.

The center was opened with a ceremony Tuesday afternoon at the Burlington County Human Services Building in Westampton, according to officials. Activities at the center will launch this month with online virtual sessions due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The kickoff coincides with National Recovery Month and ongoing efforts to end the stigma surrounding addiction. It also comes as new data shows fatal overdoses in Burlington County continue to increase.

According to the State Attorney General’s Office, the number of fatal overdoses in Burlington County increased each year from 2013 through 2019. The year-by-year information can be found below:

• 2013: 70 deaths at a rate of 1 per 6,412 people; there were 325,792 opioid prescriptions dispensed
• 2014: 75 deaths at a rate of 1 per 7,956 people; there were 333,887 opioid prescriptions dispensed
• 2015: 87 deaths at a rate of 1 per 5,137 people; there were 556 naloxone administrations at a rate of 1 per 804 people; there were 361,681 opioid prescriptions dispensed
• 2016: 96 deaths at a rate of 1 per 4,647 people; there were 653 naloxone administrations at a rate of 1 per 683 people; there were 340,082 opioid prescriptions dispensed
• 2017: 149 deaths at a rate of 1 per 2,988 people; there were 914 naloxone administrations at a rate of 1 per 487 people; there were 309,524 opioid prescriptions dispensed
• 2018: 161 deaths at a rate of 1 per 2,766 people; there were 1,023 naloxone administrations at a rate of 1 per 435 people; there were 269,195 opioid prescriptions dispensed
• 2019: 340 deaths with 2,824 naloxone administrations; there were 361,813 opioid prescriptions dispensed.
• 2020: 94 deaths through Wednesday with 473 naloxone administrations; there were 135,851 opioid prescriptions dispensed.

No information on rates were provided for 2019 and 2020.

“The coronavirus pandemic is not the only health crisis impacting Burlington County. We cannot forget that addiction is also claiming the lives of our friends, neighbors and loved ones at an alarming rate,” Burlington County Board Director Felicia Hopson said. “Our county is committed to helping our residents access the treatment and assistance they need to beat this terrible disease. This Recovery Center can be that link to services but also a supportive environment where those suffering can receive support and help from others fighting the same battle.”

Hopson was joined at the Recovery Center launch by County Administrator Eve Cullinan, Burlington County Prosecutor Scott Coffina and representatives of Prevention Is Key, a North Jersey-based nonprofit that is partnering with the County to staff the Center.

The Recovery Center will serve as a so-called “one-stop” location where individuals can obtain peer support and information about treatment programs, recovery support services and community resources

It will also serve as a location for other wellness activities and classes on subjects like nutrition, anger management, relaxation and meditation, and resume writing.

Groups like Narcotics and Alcoholics Anonymous will also be able to meet there, and recovering residents will be able to find information about sober living and housing assistance and social programs that can assist them.

The Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office will have a presence at the center through its Operation Helping Hand grant program. It will also provide information on the Prosecutor Office’s Straight … to Treatment program, which allows people struggling with addiction to walk into a police station and get referred to treatment.

“The Recovery Room will fill an important need in the continuum of drug treatment and recovery,” Coffina said. “It will provide important peer support for people looking to overcome addiction, and in particular, assistance with developing life skills and providing 'recovery capital' to sustain recovery as a compliment to treatment and meetings. Congratulations to the board and our Department of Human Services for establishing this important resource for our county, and we look forward to working with them to help those facing substance use disorder find their way to a healthy and fulfilling future for themselves and their families.”

It will also offer a warm and welcoming environment, according to Erika Shortway, director of Recovery Services for Prevention is Key. Programming at the center is expected to be peer lead and will be determined based on the needs of the resident who use it.

“We want residents to be able to come the center for help and to continue to have a voice in the support we provide them,” Shortway said.

Individuals in recovery who use the center will also have access to the building’s other services, including Burlington County’s Housing Hub, which specializes in housing assistance, the Board of Social Services and the County’s Department of Veterans Services.

“We are so excited for the center to be finally opening and it seems to be the final piece to the puzzle here in the human services building. That missing piece to the puzzle are Peer Recovery Specialist who intimately identify with all who walk through the door,” said Richard Alexander, CPRS Outreach Coordinator Prevention is Key/ CARES.

Renovations at the Human Services Building and the Recovery Center’s staff and programming were paid for by a $134,615 county innovation grant awarded by the State Department of Human Services.

The state distributed $1.6 million to counties statewide to fund innovative projects that reflect the needs of their communities and their battle against the addiction epidemic.

Prevention Is Key (PIK) received the 2020 Innovation Grant Award through their Recovery Services Department CARES (Center For Addiction, Recovery, Education and Success) for the Resource Center at the Human Services Building. The grant is effective through June 29, 2021. As grant recipient for this project, PIK will receive $80,679 in funding.

Hopson said the Recovery Center’s launch marked the latest of several initiatives taken by the County Board to improve residents’ access to drug treatment and other critical services.

In July, the Board approved a contract extension with Maryville Inc. to continue services at the Post House treatment center in Pemberton Township. The 48-bed facility offers services for male patients struggling with substance abuse and other co-occurring disorder.

“Our Board has promised to govern responsibly but also with compassion and empathy for the struggles our residents face every single day,” Hopson said. “The Recovery Center is an extension of that promise. There are real people who will benefit greatly from a program like this. It’s why I’m so proud we’re launching this initiative.”

Prevention is Key will launch virtual services in Burlington County on Sept. 28. For information about the services and online sessions, visit www.preventioniskey.org.