Newark is also working to combat the rise of drug-related deaths the city's been hit hard by the opioid epidemic today rolling out a new harm reduction program focused on treating the person as a whole and meeting residents where they're at Melissa Rose Cooper has the story and with this nipple snip of scissors the city of Newark welcomed a new initiative to treat substance use disorders and mental health just another Testament of how really Newark is set in its own really moving forward and doing the things that many places around are not doing this mobile Community Care vehicle is the latest effort from Integrity House one of the largest providers of addiction treatment in the state staff will offer a variety of services including Health screenings and harm reduction assistance all aimed at improving quality of life the recent surge in problematic substance use and drug-related deaths across the state has shown us the traditional way of doing things simply isn't good enough we've realized that far too many people experience unique challenges that make it difficult for them to obtain help inside the traditional brick and mortar facilities according to the state of Attorney General's office there were 668 suspected drug-related deaths Statewide between January 1st and the end of March with the most being in Essex County last year there were nearly 2 900 deaths in the state suspected to be drug related we realized that some of the biggest problems that we have with people not being able to get employment is drug issues is addiction right it has a child who grew up in a home of addiction I am sure that if my mother was here today and she was standing before you she would say to you that she would have loved to see a mobile vehicle into the communities that probably could have got her out of that addiction earlier in her life right to give her Integrity back right to be the woman that she is today support us at the mobile vehicle say it will help provide necessary services to people in the areas where it's needed the most the disease of addiction is a brain disorder and it Alters a part of the area of the brain that is necessary for social functions and life-sustaining functions as well and social interactions and so the reason why this van is important is that you're bringing services to individuals particularly those who are experiencing homelessness and that you're bringing them life-saving medication you're connecting them to services and supports and in essence what you're doing is not only saving lives but you're changing lives through this service we know that meeting people where they are is best practice we know that there are many barriers to treatment a lack of access to transportation in consistent housing and general stigma and so bringing care directly to people where they need it is going to help meet our goal of improving access improving equity and leading to better treatment and Recovery outcomes here in New Jersey Integrity house plants that use data from the city as well as feedback from the community to map out the best areas the mobile van will service staff say they hope what they're doing in Newark will help Inspire other cities Across the Nation as they battle addiction too for NJ Spotlight news I'm Melissa Rose Cooper [Music]