Should YOU care about the OPIOID Crisis? Honestly?
Let’s be honest. Brutally honest.
Part of the natural response when the subject of the Opioid Crisis comes up, is:
That can’t happen to my family.” That only happens to “those people.” The downtrodden, Minorities, the Poor.
Think again.
Last year in the State of New Jersey ALONE, Opioids took the lives of 3,200 young people. You do the math. That’s devastation, one family at a time.
Actor Michael Williams (A Star on the HBO show) “The Wire,” and “Boardwalk Empire” says his addiction played out on the streets of Newark, NJ after a rough upbringing in Brooklyn New York. He has been championing the issue of reforming the Juvenile Justice system and even did a documentary on HBO regarding the topic.
The NJ Reentry Corporation held it’s annual conference at St. Peter’s University in Jersey City, New Jersey. It was a day of roundtable discussions and speeches…..all about addiction, recovery and prisoner re-entry services. Cardinal William Tobin of the Newark Archdiocese knows about the human element of addiction and prison. The Cardinal visits correctional facilities quite a bit. Here is the audio of our interview with him.
”This past year I have been in a couple, three…if you count the county jails as well as northern state. I’d like to be at more.” -Cardinal William Tobin
“Your Eminence how important, the topic of addiction and prison re-entry?” -Political Anchor and Journalist Dominic Carter
“Anybody that knows anything about the population in correctional facilities knows that the vast majority…approaching 80 percent….are there because of addiction. They did what they did in connection with a particular addiction, and if the addiction isn’t treated, their going to repeat. and so re-entry programs aren’t simply a do-gooders hobby. There really a way of saving somebody’s life. I support completely new jersey re-entry.” -Cardinal William Tobin
At this conference Actor Michael Williams, gave an impassioned plea for support of ex-offenders as he also discussed his own history struggling with drug addiction…in his words…living on the streets of Newark. Williams said he was an addict when “The Wire” began filming in 2002. I spoke with the man behind the conference, former NJ Governor Jim McGreevey. Second Chances has been a second act for McGreevey after leaving politics. I asked: “Governor how bad is the problem?”
“ The problem is bad. New Jersey is one of the five states in the country where the amount of opioid deaths is actually increasing. 3,200 young people died last year from opioid overdoses in the state of New Jersey. 3,200!!! .and 3,200 will probably die next year.” -Former NJ Governor Jim McGreevey
“That hits one family at a time. People say it doesn’t effect my family. It doesn’t until it does! and then it becomes crippling.” Former NJ Governor Jim McGreevey
McGreevey warns every family should be aware of the opioid crisis.
“And what we say to every person, If you know someone that is addicted, call the new Jersey reentry corporation. We’ll get into detox within 24 hours. We’ll get you into treatment. We’ll make sure you have long-term treatment, and medication assisted treatment. We’ll work with you so that you don’t relapse, and you don’t go back to prison….but you engage in a healthy life.” -Former NJ Governor Jim McGreevey
New Jersey’s first lady Tammy Murphy was the first speaker and spent a considerable deal of her time discussing race.
“When incarcerated, individuals can be at risk for sexual assault, disease, trauma, emotional distress and more.” -NJ First Lady Tammy Murphy
“The racial disparities in our criminal justice system are immense and among women these disparities are no different. Black women are twice as likely to be incarcerated as white women.” -NJ First Lady Tammy Murphy
— —
This year, Political Anchor and Journalist Dominic Carter has won the award for “Outstanding Live on-scene Reporting from the NYS Broadcasters Association, and has been nominated by the Associated Press for Best Reporter or Anchor.
.
