By Joe Carlson New Jersey Herald
Posted: May. 6, 2016 12:01 am
NEWTON — With a prospective launch date of July 1, the Community Law Enforcement Addiction Recovery program is seeking more volunteers who have experience battling addiction.
These volunteers, called “coaches,” will provide insight into what addicts are experiencing and will be among the first people to make contacts with addicts who want treatment.
“We are looking for people who have been in recovery for a few years,” Newton Police Chief Michael Richards said. “Those coaches will have a lot of credibility to those they are trying to help.”
Interested individuals can fill out an application online and will then go through an interview process.
“Past criminal history is not an automatic disqualifier,” said Annmarie Shafer, a coalition coordinator for the Center for Prevention and Counseling.
Training for volunteer coaches will begin on May 21.
The goal of the C.L.E.A.R. program is to form a collaborative community network of organizations to combat the opiate epidemic.
The program is being led by the Newton Police Department, the Center for Prevention and Counseling, the Sussex County Prosecutor’s Office and Newton Medical Center.
As part of the program, addicts who wish to seek recovery will be able to go to the Newton Police Department, ask for help and then be escorted to the Center for Prevention and Counseling to begin their recovery, Richards said.
While the Sussex County Association of Chiefs of Police has pledged its support and donated money as well, the program will begin in Newton before branching out to other municipal police departments, Richards said.
The volunteer coaches will be given 30 hours of training over the course of several weeks and will provide non-clinical assistance to those seeking recovery, said Katie Calvacca, recovery support coordinator for the Center for Prevention and Counseling.
Since the initiative in March was announced, the program has been given support in the form of resolutions from several municipalities including: Hampton, Newton, Stillwater, Montague and Byram. Richards said he expects other county municipalities and the Sussex County Board of Chosen Freeholders to pledge their support in the coming months.
In addition to municipal support, several treatment centers including The Florida House Experience, Sunrise House, College Recovery and Amethyst Recovery have committed scholarships to the program to aid in the recovery mission.
“When someone needs help we can make that transition as seamless as possible and get them treatment no matter their insurance or financial situation,” Calvacca said.
“Even if they don’t have a bed, they have a network they can reach out to place people in beds,” Richards added.
Becky Carlson, executive director of the center, said the community support for the C.L.E.A.R. program has been abundant.
“So many people know someone who has been affected by addiction,” Carlson said. “It resonates. People want to make changes.”
In addition to training coaches to work with addicts directly, the program is training family members of those in recovery to work with other families, Shafer said.
“We’re here as a community to support those who want recovery,” Calvacca said.
For more information visit www.clearprogram.org.
Joe Carlson also can be contacted
on Twitter: @Joe CarlsonNJH or by phone: 973-383-1292.
Editor’s Note: This article has been corrected to include the full name of the Sussex County Association of Chiefs of Police.