Rockaway, N.J. (November 5, 2019)—Prevention Is Key (PIK), formerly known as Morris County Prevention is Key, a north Jersey-based non-profit substance abuse prevention agency, has just announced that the Narcan 2.0 program has made significant inroads in the fight against the heroin epidemic in Morris County.  

Narcan 2.0, a drug overdose initiative developed by the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office, in partnership with PIK’s CARES – Center for Addiction Recovery Education & Services, Atlantic Health System, Saint Clare’s Health and the Morris County Department of Human Services, offers peer counseling to Morris County residents who have overdosed and had their condition reversed in the field through the administration of Narcan (naloxone). The goal of the program is to give survivors a meaningful second chance by navigating them into treatment to break the cycle of addiction through coaching from PIK’s Certified Peer Recovery Specialists (CPRS).

In the first seven months of the program alone, Narcan was administered 83 times in Morris County by law enforcement officers. Of those, 59 subsequently accepted the services offered by the program, representing a 79 percent success rate.

“Evidence indicates that administering a drug like Narcan to an individual who suffers an opioid overdose is a critical step needed to save a life,” said Melody Runyon, Associate Director, Prevention Is Key. “However, by itself, it is not nearly enough to accomplish the goal of connecting the drug abuser with needed treatment of recover support.”

The CPRS team is comprised of individuals who are, themselves, also in recovery. Trained and certified by CARES, specialists share their own experiences with addiction to help overdose survivors find and maintain their own paths to recovery.

Funded by the N.J. Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services and the Morris County Department of Human Services, peer counseling services are offered every day from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.