Asbury Park Press, 5/22/17
By Katie Park
Three Ocean County police departments now participate in a program that encourages drug users to turn in their narcotics in exchange for rehabilitation, with no threat of charges or jail, the county prosecutor said.
On Tuesday, Stafford police rolled out the Blue HART program and joined Brick and Manchester police, said Al Della Fave, spokesman for the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office. Under the program, users show up to any one of the designated police departments to turn in drugs and are evaluated for treatment. Insurance is not necessary, and the facilities absorb the cost of treatment.
Although the program is geared toward people who willingly seek help, officers from the participating police departments can also bring in users if they feel like they would benefit from the Blue HART program, Joseph Coronato, the Ocean County prosecutor, said in a statement. The person brought into police headquarters would have to consent to the screening process, which is voluntary.
The program — which Coronato said is the “first of its kind law enforcement addiction help program in New Jersey” — might sound familiar to some people.
It was originally branded the HARP program when it began in New Jersey on Jan. 9, but renamed the Blue HART program when another organization said it had already claimed HARP as its name, Della Fave said.
HART is an acronym for Heroin Addiction Recovery and Treatment, Della Fave said, and the word “blue” in its name is a nod to the official color of police forces in the United States.
Despite singling out heroin in the name due to its prevalence on the Shore, Della Fave said people who abuse any kind of narcotics can be accepted into the program. People can also come from any town to try for the program. Stafford police will work with Ocean Mental Health Services in Manahawkin and Bayville; Brick police is aligned with Preferred Behavioral Health in Lakewood and Manchester police is paired with Integrity House in Toms River.
Some patients are also treated at facilities in Florida and Texas, Della Fave said. The county will use forfeiture funds to pay for transportation and other services.
“Blue HART is designed to go beyond OCPO’s initial proactive Narcan and Recovery Coach Program measures to offer substantial diversion help in order to reduce the impact of heroin and opiate abuse in our community,” Joseph Coronato, Ocean County prosecutor, said in a statement.
Ocean County reported the second-highest total of overdose deaths in the state in 2015, at 157, according to state statistics. Then, in 2016, the county recorded more than 200 deaths linked to overdoses. Camden County topped Ocean County, with 191 fatalities.
Authorities say fentanyl, a synthetic opioid, is largely responsible for overdose deaths. When cut with heroin or just used by itself, fentanyl is often lethal. Ingesting just a few grains can kill an adult, and even skin contact with the drug can incapacitate a person.