Officials meet to discuss CLEAR program

NEWTON — The Center for Prevention & Counseling hosted a meeting this morning at their offices in Newton to discuss the status of the Sussex County C.L.E.A.R. Program since its official launch on July 18 and to determine next steps to take in their effort to locally combat the opiate epidemic.
Those in attendance also included Sussex County Prosecutor Francis Koch, Chief Bret Alemy, Hardyston Police and President of the Sussex County Police Chiefs’ Association, Sussex County Freeholder Director George Graham, Newton Mayor Sandra Diglio, Newton Deputy Manager Debra Millikin, Hopatcong Mayor Sylvia Petillo, Sarah Balzano, Administrator of the Sussex County Department of Human Services, James Furgeson of the Newton Medical Center, Dr. Jean-Paul Bonnet, several Peer Recovery Coaches as well as Chiefs/Officers from the Byram, Andover, Hamburg and Sparta Police Departments and the Sussex County Sheriff’s Office Correctional Facility.
Katie Calvacca, the CLEAR Program coordinator, was excited to share information about the many participants who have entered the CLEAR Program or who have been otherwise assisted in the short time since it began. To date, seven residents were helped to enter a treatment program and twenty-five others were connected to coaches and other referrals and services available at the Center for Prevention and Counseling.
Plans are underway to provide training to Law Enforcement Officers across the County and to expand the CLEAR program to all Police Departments. Outreach to those struggling with addiction will be decidedly improved as the program expands.
Having received resolutions of support from the County Freeholder Board and several municipalities, CLEAR is continuing efforts to inform local leaders about this valuable and innovative program. The message is everyone benefits from helping people with a substance use disorder – the individual, their family, their employer and the community at large. The many societal ill effects and criminal activity so often associated with opioid addiction can be prevented.
The CLEAR Program is actively partnering with treatment centers, many of which are providing treatment at no cost for those who are uninsured. The CLEAR Program has helped open doors to recovery for residents who had nowhere to turn to in the past. Recovery can be achieved and the CLEAR Program is poised to make a major difference in the quality of life in Sussex County. The program’s success, however, is contingent on the continued efforts of our volunteer peer recovery coaches and the financial support of County residents and businesses.
Please consider donating to the CLEAR Program to help our education and outreach efforts and to assist participants with treatment related expenses. For more information or to make an online donation, please visit www.CLEARprogram.org. Those seeking assistance can also call to speak with a CLEAR representative Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. until 8 p.m.
Call 1-844-SC-CLEAR.