Paterson Coalition for Opioid Assessment and Response (COAR) and Opioid Response Team (ORT)

The City of Paterson, New Jersey is applying to the Comprehensive Opioid, Stimulant, and Substance Abuse Site-based Program (COSSAP) under sub-category 1B. This project serves the City of Paterson, which has a resident population of 159,732 residents (US Census 2020). The purpose of the project is to expand the work of the Paterson Coalition for Opioid Assessment and Response (COAR). Currently, COAR is one of six technical assistance awardees of the Institute for Intergovernmental Research’s Partnerships to Support Data-driven Responses to Emerging Drug Threats grant program. Based on preliminary and still ongoing data collection, COAR is proposing the following interventions to be carried through September 2025, via a COSSAP award: (1) continuation and expansion of the City’s inaugural Opioid Response Team (ORT) and ORT-trained community partners to perform proactive outreach in overdose “hot spot” areas, as identified based on the collective data and research of COAR; (2) continuation and expansion of the ORT’s Post-Overdose Response-styled approach to target individuals in need of outreach as to assure that anyone who overdoses is met with helpful information about recovery options and ongoing case support by the ORT in a timely fashion; (3) support for the ORT’s collaboration with the local hospital’s Emergency Department to assure that all individuals seeking treatment are met with a high-skill Social Worker and Peer who, together, have the ability to navigate and build a realistic, attainable, and personalized continuum-of-care to support each client, regardless of how complex their needs may be; and (4) support for staff members 100% dedicated to managing and building capacity/sustainability of COAR’s initiatives over time. COAR members and regular stakeholders (i.e. project partners) include: law enforcement entities from the local (Paterson Police Department [PPD]), county (Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office [PCPO]), and state (NJ State Police/Office of the Attorney General) levels; addiction and health professionals from local (Paterson Department of Health and Human Services/Division of Health [HHS]), county (Passaic County Department of Health and Human Services/Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services [PCHHS]), and regional (St. Joseph’s University Health [SJH]) levels; community-based partners who work hands-on to develop policy (Health Coalition of Passaic County [HCPC]) and programs to support the region’s substance-using residents; and traditional Narcan distributors (Paterson Fire Department and Paterson Emergency Medical Services [EMS]). Priority considerations addressed in this application include: (1) Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities; and (2) Category 1 Projects that Include a Research Partner.