Faith and Prevention

That was the theme of the half day Interfaith Symposium at The Life Christian Church on Thursday, October 6th. The Symposium, organized by the Alcohol & Drug Abuse Prevention Team (ADAPT), the Essex County Division of Community Health Services, and the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, brought together 110 Essex County faith based leaders who were provided with information on how to help their congregation and anyone else dealing with substance abuse and health related issues. ADAPT is managed by FAMILYConnections.

“The Symposium was organized by ADAPT’s Essex County Interfaith Steering Committee to involve more faith-based leaders in substance abuse prevention,” says Jacques Hryshko, FAMILYConnections’ Executive Director. “Faith-based leaders are in a unique position to positively impact families and young people because of the strong values that faith promotes. Therefore it’s important that they understand issues related to mental and emotional health and what community resources are available to them when someone is in need. I thank everyone who was involved with putting this event together.”

The Symposium included a panel discussion on mental health, nutrition and substance abuse. There was a presentation on the Faith in Prevention Initiative, funded by the New Jersey Department of Health, Division of Family Health Service. The West Orange Police Department introduced Operation HOPE, a new program designed to decrease the heroin epidemic affecting our local communities.

To learn more about the Symposium and what community resources are available to faith-based leaders, please contact Joel Torres, ADAPT Senior Project Coordinator at jtorres@familyconnectionsnj.org.

ADAPT is a rich, diverse coalition of more than 100 volunteers, including parents, youth, educators, prevention professionals, law enforcement officials, etc., from all over Essex County. Through community-level interventions, ADAPT strives to decrease underage drinking and prescription drug abuse and misuse by residents throughout Essex County while also empowering all residents to choose healthier lifestyles. ADAPT is funded by the NJ division of Mental Health and Addiction Services (NJ DMHAS) and the White House’s Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP).

FAMILYConnections is a non-profit counseling and family services agency serving Essex and surrounding Counties with 35+ specialized programs for all ages, offering counseling, skills-building, training and prevention.

To learn more visit: www.essexadapt.org and www.familyconnectionsnj.org.