In 2013, two overdose deaths in the space of a week in the Somerset Hills towns of New Jersey led to the beginnings of a powerful movement of volunteers committed to ending opioid overdose deaths. A community coalition consisting of a wide range of local leaders, stakeholders and faith-based organizations mobilized and, using the 2014 Governor’s Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse’s (GCADA) evidenced-based report on the burgeoning heroin/opioid epidemic as its foundation, created working groups united in fighting the crisis. We are one of only a few federally-funded Drug Free Communities (DFC) coalitions singularly focused on the opioid crisis. Once primarily volunteer driven, we are now a small team of full and part time staff sharing one common cause – to support the communities we serve with prevention education, substance use awareness, and recovery support for those in and seeking recovery.
The Community Hub, home for Community in Crisis, is located at 9 Church Street in Bernardsville and includes a beautiful community center that is a bustling, much loved space. The Hub offers a welcoming environment to everyone seeking information, resources and volunteer opportunities. With a focus on fostering healthy lifestyles, the Hub offers our youth, adolescents, adults and families workshops, programs, breakfast community meetings, volunteer opportunities and presentations. The Hub also provides a welcoming non clinical environment for individuals in post-acute care recovery, as well as their families as they integrate back into their environment and support system.
