Kelly E. Levy
Acting Director
Opioid Response Teams
NJ CARES sub-granted $749,999 in federal funds to five New Jersey municipalities deemed by our academic partners within the Rutgers School of Social Work to be the most at-risk and in-need of crisis intervention for opioid addiction: Camden, Newark, Paterson, Toms River, and Trenton. In particular, NJ CARES awarded $149,999 to each of their police departments for the creation of Opioid Response Teams (“ORTs”) consisting of a police officer and/or EMS worker and substance abuse recovery advocate. ORTs will assist local residents with opioid use disorder at different points of entry (e.g., at the scene of an overdose, police station, hospital emergency room) by providing 24/7 crisis intervention, support and/or referrals to recovery programs, and outreach aimed at diverting persons with opioid addictions into treatment, thereby reducing overdose deaths while strengthening partnerships between law enforcement and the communities they serve.