On The Frontlines of the Opioid Wars

By David Mosca
NJ Urban News

The Newark Community Street Team (NCST) may be known for their efforts in reducing street violence in the community, but the outreach group is also on the frontlines of the opioid epidemic as the NCST recently launched its Power to Save Lives Campaign. 

With an increase of opioid-related deaths during the height of the pandemic from 2020 to 2021, NCST began to rethink the Newark EMS (Emergency Medical Services) model.  

“With more people isolated in their homes, many were self-medicating and facing depression,” says Divad Sanders, Director of NCST’s Opioid Response Team (ORT). 

“There were many incidents of opioid overdose taking place and those who were brought into hospitals were stigmatized if they had drug paraphernalia on them.”  

The NCST’s Opioid Response Team was created to work directly with Newark’s EMS teams as a response to the difficulty members of the community were facing with the ongoing crisis. 

“EMS didn’t exactly have the best relationship with the community since they looked a lot like cops,” says Sanders. “This would get in the way of saving lives since members of the community didn’t believe they were EMS. If someone decided they did not want to receive further medical support from EMS, we would step in to help on behalf of the community.” 

The ORT’s main goals are to reduce fatal and non-fatal overdoses, reduce health and social harms to people who use drugs and their communities, improve the use of harm reduction services, and reduce arrests associated with overdose events. 

ORT’s lead outreach worker, Donald “DJ” Jackson, and University Hospital’s Daniel Vega were cited as the catalysts towards the ORT’s impact on the City of Newark.  

The NCST was developed in 2014 to change what violent crimes and trauma were doing to the City of Newark and was spearheaded by Mayor Baraca and Aqeela Sherrills, who came from California. 

When Sherrills’ son was killed in a gang-related incident, he developed an idea that could reduce violence and save lives from incidents that happened to people like his son. 

“Instead of responding with violence, he responded with love,” said Sanders. “With so many issues plaguing the community, one program after another came to be.” 

The NCST would go on to start with the Safe Passage program, allowing kids safer passage to and from school due to the high number of violent incidents taking place between the youth.  

Other programs that followed include their High-Risk Intervention (HRI), whose responsibility is to respond to community-based incidences of violence based on referral from the community or law enforcement. 

Through this, the HRI team helps those involved in violence by getting them in touch with supportive counseling, crisis intervention assessment and mediation, referrals, and resource information. 

HCST also runs a Hospital Intervention Program (HVIP), with outreach workers in the University Hospital Trauma Center who connect victims and their families to supportive services. These outreach workers also connect with the HRI team and victim services to prevent retaliatory strikes against the hospitals where victims are brought for recovery.  

TheTrauma Recovery Center (TRC) helps victims of violence access treatment for mental health, health care, and legal resources and provides free mental health services to survivors of violent crimes ages 10 and older for residents in both Essex and Hudson County who were of survivors of physical and sexual assault, gunshot wounds, stabbings, domestic abuse, and human trafficking.  

These departments would come into development based on the needs that were developing in the community. NCST also helps victims learn personal and job development skills to prevent them from falling back into street violence and incarceration.  

“There was a stronger need for black and brown communities to have access to Narcan due to the communities impacted by opioid abuse,” said Sanders. “If a person overdoses, there’s a high probability that they’ll die without Narcan. Access to Narcan isn’t that direct or easy. We take a more proactive approach to allowing access to Narcan.” 

A recent conference for NCST’s campaign took place in Newark on March 26, when they addressed expanding Naloxone, more commonly known as Narcan, in marginalized communities and to have it in more areas and spaces of trained stakeholders. 

NCST has already involved other entities in their Power to Save Lives campaign such as the Newark Public Library, which has social workers trained to use Narcan.  

“How do you effectively engage someone to know they’re having an overdose and know what to do?” says Sanders. “We want to empower communities to recognize the problem. It’s better to stay ready so you don’t have to get ready.” 

Following their conference, NCST is considering training security guards at various locations in Newark as well as pharmacies to be on the ready with Narcan in case of an overdose in the area. 

Over 500 fatalities have been prevented by the Overdose Response Team with the help of community residents, University Hospital, Lincoln Park Coast Cultural District, Greater Essex Counseling Services, LLC & Newark Community Street Team- High Risk Intervention Department.NCST holds monthly stakeholder meetings on the first Wednesday of every month along with their Spotlight Organization Program. They can be found online at newarkcommunitystreetteam.org.