Help On Wheels: Integrity House Van Will Combat Overdoses In Newark

NEWARK, NJ — It’s help on wheels.

Integrity House, one of the largest nonprofit providers of substance use disorder treatment and mental health services in New Jersey, recently held a ribbon cutting event at its headquarters in Newark to launch its new Mobile Community Care program.

Integrity House will use a retrofitted vehicle to deliver medications for substance use disorder (SUD), care coordination services, harm reduction resources and recovery support to the Greater Newark community.

Hopefully, the vehicle will help the nonprofit to reach people who have a hard time making it to brick-and-mortar facilities, including people experiencing homelessness.

Integrity House will use the mobile unit to travel to targeted areas within the region to perform on-the-spot screenings and assessments with individuals with SUD, and, if clinically indicated, immediately prescribe medications. The agency will partner with a variety of community providers to ensure those seeking services have access to “whole-person” care. This includes other licensed SUD and mental health programs, primary care providers, and community-based agencies such as Hyacinth and the North Jersey Community Research Initiative to ensure individuals have access to HIV testing and treatment and COVID-19 vaccines.

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

Here’s the goal of the program, according to a news release:

“The Mobile Community Care program is intended to provide support and resources to address substance use challenges, with a focus on reducing barriers to care. It is designed to engage individuals who experience obstacles in connecting to care at traditional brick-and-mortar facilities, with a focus on individuals who are homeless. The use of medically-assisted treatment, in combination with counseling and behavioral therapies, has been shown to treat substance use disorders, assist with recovery and prevent opioid overdose.”

The new program is made possible through a contract with the New Jersey Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services. Under the partnership, Integrity House will use its specially-equipped and branded vehicle to increase community members’ access to FDA-approved medications for substance use disorder and other services to assist them in their treatment and recovery.

“Access to medical treatment and behavioral health care is a vitally important step that will help to stem the soaring overdose rates that we have been seeing over the past several years,” said Integrity House president and CEO Robert Budsock said.

“Integrity House’s new mobile medical unit will accelerate our efforts to bring treatment directly to individuals struggling with addiction, meeting with them literally in their community, in the places where treatment is most needed, enabling us to better help these people on their path to recovery, to reduce overdoses and to save lives,” Budsock said.

• See Related: Not Just For COVID; Essex County Will Expand Mobile Clinics

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