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By Victoria Ford
The grassroots campaign “ opens in a new windowNot One More” has announced multiple victories in the fight for solutions to “crush stigma” against substance use disorder and to end the state’s overdose crisis: The Ocean County Opioid Advisory Council has distributed funding to recovery efforts, and state legislative bills that would have imposed harsh criminal penalties for fentanyl possession have been halted.
Newer thinking about recovery takes an approach rooted in acceptance and compassion, as opposed to the prohibition and incarceration mentality that defined the 1970s and ’80s’ War on Drugs, which is, in the opinion of harm reduction supporters, shortsighted and ineffective.
“Not One More” is a joint effort of the opens in a new windowNew Jersey Organizing Project and New Jersey Resource Project, Sea Change Recovery Community Organization and Worth Saving.
“This is what saving lives looks like,” according to Sea Change Founder and President Elizabeth Burke Beaty. “People who use drugs and who struggle with addiction have a right to access care that truly meets them where they are, is evidence-based, free or affordable, and empowers them to live healthier lives.”
The campaign’s lead organizer, Elissa Tierney, said other counties would do well to follow Ocean County’s example. In addition to the work NJOP members did, the Ocean County Opioid Advisory Council’s openness and transparency have been integral, she explained. By inviting public participation in meetings, responding to attendees’ requests for information and welcoming community involvement in the proposal evaluation process, council members earned their appreciation and trust.
“We’re also excited to see hybrid (live/online) public meetings next year so more Ocean County residents can attend,” Tierney added. “Conversely, our Monmouth County members have made the same attempts to work with their county council, and the result has been disappointing.”
The overdose crisis is suspected to have claimed 2,363 lives in New Jersey in 2023, hitting rural and suburban South Jersey counties particularly hard, according to NJOP. opens in a new windowResearch presented by “Not One More” identified these under-resourced counties as having the highest overdose rates in the state, in part due to a lack of affordable and accessible treatment options.
Grassroots recovery organizations say better funding for the work they do will be necessary to bring these numbers down.
In a recent op-ed, Vince DiGioia-Laird, founder of Monmouth County CARE Inc. and member of the “Not One More” campaign, described grassroots organizations as vital and cost-effective care providers. “Lower administrative overhead means more direct service delivery per dollar spent. Yet many of these organizations find themselves struggling for survival amid a skewed funding landscape that favors large behavioral health corporations that already have lots of money and name recognition.”
One such organization is Sea Change RCO, a member of the “Not One More” campaign and the first official harm reduction center in Ocean County.
Sea Change recently received two new grants, one from the N.J. Department of Health and one from the Ocean County Opioid Advisory Council Ocean County Board of Commissioners, which will help to maintain and expand its services and to continue to provide compassionate and evidence-based care, as well as lifesaving resources and support, to Southern Ocean County residents struggling with substance use.
New Jersey received $641 million in opioid settlement funds from nationwide opioid litigation brought against opioid distributors and manufacturers, to be disbursed over the next 18 years. The county will receive more than $15 million in annual settlement payouts.
Organizers see the opioid settlement funds as a step toward ending overdose. They have urged state, county and municipal bodies overseeing the allocation of funds to prioritize such grassroots organizations and evidence-based solutions, such as broader access to medication-assisted treatment and harm reduction services.
“Opioid settlement funds belong to New Jerseyans who have been impacted by this crisis and the War on Drugs,” said Lisa Campanella, senior policy analyst for the New Jersey Resource Project. “So Not One More members showed up to every meeting of the Ocean County Opioid Advisory Council to guarantee our community gets what it needs. We’re organizing to use this money – our money – for solutions that those of us on the ground and with lived experience have long been calling for, and to make sure the funds are not channeled predominantly into law enforcement, but into treatment and care. We want to see efforts to save lives, not jail them.”
These victories come at the end of a busy year for the “Not One More” campaign, which also successfully lobbied, as part of a statewide coalition to end the War on Drugs, to dismiss two state bills (A5649 and S3096) further criminalizing the possession of small amounts of fentanyl. The campaign led a door-to-door canvass and resource distribution in key Ocean and Monmouth County overdose hot spots last spring.