New Opioid Prevention Initiative Being Rolled Out In Howell

HOWELL, NJ — A new initiative, Tackling Opioid Use Through Prevention, was laid out to the Howell Council Tuesday as part of an update on the Howell Alliance response to vaping, underage smoking and drug use in the community.

National Opioid Settlement Agreement funds are helping support this and other Alliance programs, the council was told.

Steven Friedeman made a presentation about how the program will roll out over the next year in talks to various youth athletic programs in Howell, focusing on the dangers of opioids.

Starting Thursday, Friedeman, who has a doctor in physical therapy and is owner of Therapeutic Impact LLC in Howell, will be presenting talks to coaches and parents on the dangers of both prescribed and illicit opioids - especially for young people.

He said he has worked with the Howell Alliance and its coordinator, Christa Riddle, for many years and is a member of the Alliance.

As president of the Howell Chamber of Commerce and as a physical therapist in the township he is very involved in various prevention and health initiatives, he said in an interview. He is clinical director of ProCare Rehabilitation in Howell.

He said young people visiting friends or family often can find unused prescribed opioids and other drugs in medicine cabinets, leading to dependency and addiction.

"If you are under 18 and exposed to an opioid you are 33 percent more likely to become addicted as an adult," he said.

He is encouraging all youth programs to take advantage of the program. He said any group can arrange to have his talk by contacting Riddle at the Howell Alliance.

He will talk to coaches and parents and provide educational materials "so information can filter down to the athletes," he said.

Friedeman was to present the program on Thursday to coaches and parents in the Howell American Youth Football program. The AYF goes up to eighth grade.

He is starting with athletic programs, he said, because young people can become addicted to pain medication if they have an injury.

Apart from addressing youth team sports organizations, he hopes to broaden the program to other areas that can be a conduit to reach young people and their parents - such as dance or karate programs or Scout leaders, he said.

His program and others offered by the Howell Alliance received a boost from federal funds allocated to the township as part of a National Opioid Settlement Agreement with pharmaceutical companies.

The opioid crisis in the country began with addictive prescribed medication. Now the country faces heroin and fentanyl abuse and the deaths from overdoses is higher than ever, at more than 100,000 lives lost per year, and many more damaged by addiction, according to federal CDC statistics.

Riddle, coordinator of the Howell Alliance, also made a presentation to the council to update it and the public on other initiatives offered by the Alliance and helped by the settlement funds.

She said the township has received $72,754 for 2022-2023 in settlement funds. This year, the township has so far received $14,179 and is expecting more, she said.

And she said the Alliance welcomes all ideas about other programs it can offer to the public to address substance abuse.

Among the current initiatives she cited, she said the Alliance is purchasing and installing eight vape detectors in bathrooms at each of the two Howell Middle Schools. The installation is complete in Middle School South and will be complete before school starts at Middle School North, she said.

The Alliance is also providing five more Narcan kits to the Howell High School, too, she said, and seven more vape detectors.

She has plans to establish a Pre-K to Grade 8 parenting life skills program to educate parents of young children about substance use.

There are also plans to have a program where police officers who may have been called to assist in an overdose then return to the home to see how the resident is doing and to offer more educational materials for recovery.

Safe disposal of unused medications is another continuing project of the Alliance, and Friedeman said that at his talks he will be distributing such things as special disposal bags for the Howell drug drop box, and a product - Dispose Rx - that can neutralize the effectiveness of drugs.

A big part of the work of the Alliance is addressing underage smoking and vaping, Riddle said.

On April 4, the township amended an ordinance to require licensing and regulating establishments that sell electronic smoking devices.

The township backed the initiative to "address the youth vaping epidemic and underage sales of all nicotine and tobacco products, including electronic smoking devices, or vapes," she said.

And she said the township has so far received $15,000 in licensing fees since the expanded ordinance went into effect.

The township offers free signs to retailers about the age restriction of 21 to buy tobacco and that flavored e-cigarette products are illegal in New Jersey.