Opening Doors

Addicts being given second chance through Paterson drug court program

By: Daren Tobia
Paterson Press

PATERSON - A 52-year-old city man came to Municipal Court this month [12/2023] convinced that his drug charge would land him behind bars.
..... Instead, he as given the option to enter a treatment program of this drug problem and an opportunity that could help him find housing and work and even wipe the incident clean from his criminal record.
..... "They could have put me in jail," he said, gratefully.
..... "it's like a door is opening for me."
..... This reversal of fortune was the product of a new attorney general pilot program intended to help drug users beat their addition.
..... Paterson's Municipal Court became the first of six in New Jersey to roll out an initiative called Opt for Help and Hope.
..... It runs throughout next year [2024] and is funded by a $333,333 grant paid for with funds from a court settlement with McKinsey and Company, a pharmaceutical consultant accessed of giving misleading information about the risks of Oxycontin.
..... The creation of the program represents some form of poetic justice for drug users, many of whom, get hooked through prescription drugs.
..... "The ultimate goal of the program is to break the chain of substance abuse," chief Judge John Abdelhadi said during the December 6 [2023] court session.
..... Nine defendants summoned to court that day seized the opportunity.
..... Those who agreed to be interviewed for this story asked that their names not be published. One told Paterson Press that he was looking forward to having a routine for the 90-day duration of the program. he believes it will give him a sense of purpose, something he needs to avoid "catching another charge."
..... "I'll have somewhere to go every day," he said of Opt for Hope. "Ill be busy."
..... In partnership with the Passaic county Prosecutor's Office, the Pot program is being run by a Morris County-based nonprofit, Prevention is Key, that offers substance abuse services.
..... The only thing hat can disqualify a candidate is a violent offense, a DWI, charge or a current drug distribution charge, said Matthew Benzoni, one of the Passaic County assistant prosecutors who screen cases that come through Paterson;s drug court for potential entrants.
..... "If the Prosecutor's Office determines that the participant has meaningfully complied with the program for three months, the office will recommend to the municipal judge that the participant's charges be dismissed," Benzoni said.
..... After completing the program, those who relapse can be considered more than once, he noted. "Per-program guidelines, there is no explicit bar to readmission," Benzoni said. "However, the municipal judge and the Prosecutor's Office retain discretion as to a defendant's appropriateness for the program."
.... Anthony Raymond, who works for Prevention Is Key, said all nine new candidates added to his caseload on the first day were Paterson residents, another requirement.
..... However, not all the eligible participants were made aware of the program before their court appearance. Some first learned of it that day.
..... "It will work itself out," Raymond said about the lapse in communication. "It's a brand-new program."
..... Raymond, who will be stationed at Paterson's Frank X Graves Jr. Public Safety Complex each day the drug court is in session, pointed out the program flyers written in three languages - English, Spanish and Arabic - that were posted on the wall in the waiting room.
..... "It's a hard road to recovery, and it's usually a longly one, but hopefully we can walk together," Raymond said. "Not too many people have family members that come to these proceeding."

'We want to take away that fear'

..... Among the participants who had come to the courthouse alone was a teenager, who had been charged with refusing to turn over a controlled dangerous substance. he seemed more wary than others about what the program would entail, suspicious of the mercy shown to him.
..... "What's the catch?" the 19-yar-old said, after having the program explained to him by a public defender. "There might be a catch."
..... His response is a legacy of the way drug users have been treated in the past, a perception that the Paterson Police Department is making strides to change, said Lieutenant Todd Pearl.
..... "We want to take away the fear," Pearl said. "We want time to see police officers and EMS workers as people who are there to help and can be approached."
..... The local police force is the community's first point of contact with the Opt program. when an officer encounters a person who has committed a low-level drug offense, they are told about the program. Pearl noted.
..... The Opt program - in addition to the department;s Opioid Response Team, established last year, [2022] which pairs plainclothes officers with social service workers during community outreach - is a marked changed in the way drug use has traditionally been handled.
..... "Most police officers I know became police officers because they wanted to help people and their community," Pearl said. "This is another tool in their tool-belt to help them achieve that goal."
..... By the end of Wednesday;s [12/06/2023] drug court session, Charles Thomas, a public defender who was tasked with explaining the program to defendants, said the teenager's cautious response was not typical of the day. "This is an opportunity to address what ever needs they have and consequently have these matters dismissed," he said.

..... Darren Tobia is a contributing writer for Paterson Press

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