The Morris County Prosecutor’s Office is pleased to announce the hosting of “The Opioid Crisis: Engaging the Community” as the second event under New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal’s “21-County, 21st Century Community Policing Project”. The “21/21 Community Policing Project” was implemented in 2018 with the goal of building better relationships between law enforcement and the communities in which they serve. Every county prosecutor’s office in New Jersey will host a community outreach event once a quarter. For the first quarter, the theme of the program was “Officer Involved Shootings”, and the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office hosted a successful event at the Morris County Public Safety Training Academy. The theme for the second quarter’s program is “The Opioid Crisis”.

This event will be held on Wednesday, August 15, 2018 at Christ Church in Rockaway Township. The presentation will run from 7:00pm through 9:00pm, but the doors will be open at 6:00pm so those in attendance can visit the various informational tables setup by service providers throughout the venue. The Morris County Prosecutor’s Office is partnering with Christ Church, the Morris County Sheriff’s Office, and Morris Center for Addiction Recovery Education & Success (CARES) to host this event. In addition to Vance Johnson, former NFL player and Super Bowl Champion, the speakers for the night will include Morris County Prosecutor Fredric Knapp, and Morris County Chief Assistant Prosecutor Bradford Seabury. A panel discussion will follow the speakers.

The evening will begin with welcoming remarks from Lead Pastor David Ireland and Prosecutor Knapp. Following their remarks, Chief Assistant Prosecutor Seabury will present his “Opiates 101” program, which explains the Heroin and Opioid Epidemic, and details the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office’s strategy against addiction. Vance Johnson will follow CAP Seabury’s presentation with his own inspirational talk about his personal experiences fighting substance abuse disorder. Following the two presentations, there will be a panel discussion comprised of Sheriff James Gannon, Lead Pastor David Ireland, Assistant U.S. Attorney Erica Liu, Barbara Kauffman of Morris CARES, and Jim Curtin of Daytop with the goal of sharing differing perspectives on the Heroin and Opioid Epidemic, as well as how each respective group is working together to make a difference in Morris County. The audience will have the opportunity to engage in a Q&A session with the panel following their discussion.

Prosecutor Knapp stated, “The Morris County Prosecutor’s Office is extremely excited to partner with several community organizations on this critically important topic. We are thrilled to have Vance Johnson, who is a dynamic and inspirational speaker to present his story of recovery”.

This is a free event and all are encouraged to attend. If you are attending, please register at http://christchurchusa.org/summit/