Once controversial, harm-reduction methods of addiction treatment are slowly gaining acceptance across New Jersey, where naloxone and clean syringes are provided but so are other services for people dealing with substance abuse.
Gov. Phil Murphy recently signed a law expanding access to harm-reduction supplies, and in South Jersey, one training program is spreading the word on how these services can be administered successfully alongside addiction treatment.
“When most people hear harm reduction, they think of the methods like overdose prevention sites, naloxone, syringe service programs,” said Heather Ogden, founder and owner of Heartistic Recovery. “But it’s so much more than that because it’s a way of interacting with people and accepting that they are the authority on themselves. And that all pathways are good pathways.”
