Hello Community Members!  While New Jersey has become one of the pioneers in underage marijuana usage and law enforcement reform, the new marijuana legislation has led to frustration and confusion with parents, business owners, and law enforcement alike. While there have been news outlets and educational resources mitigating some of that confusion, the Prevention Coalition of Mercer County an...

Mercer Council extends a thank you to all participants who joined us on March 17, 2021 for the Brain Awareness Zoom webinar, “Learn Neuroscience: Alcohol and the Developing Brain”. A special thank you also to Dr. Rola Bekdash from Rutgers University for providing the students an insightful and informative presentation about the inner workings of the human mind and effects of alcohol on the develop...

Our recent antiracism training facilitated by Kimme Carlos put me in touch with many of my personal emotions. I have always felt uncomfortable discussing issues associated with racism. I know it exists and I know it is sometimes necessary, but as a black man who has lived through it, the idea of discussing it at a times when I don’t necessarily have to is very difficult. Not only does it harbor di...

The Mercer Council on Alcoholism and Drug Addiction is hosting a special event on Thursday, April 8th at 7pm -  "The First Choice and a Second Chance" featuring Stephen Hill, founder of Speak Sobriety.  Stephen is a motivational speaker, author and advocate for substance abuse prevention. He graduated with honors from John Jay College of Criminal Justice and Brooklyn Law School.After suf...

Last Thursday March 25, 2021, we lost a dear Board Member of Mercer Council, Phyllis Marchand. She has been a fixture in Mercer Council's 40+ year history, being a Board Member for 26 years who held various offices within the Board during this time. She was the longest standing Board member who witnessed the transformation Mercer Council has gone through both internally in the leadership of the or...

It's that time again -- time to encourage all graduating high school seniors planning on attending college in the fall, as well as students currently enrolled in college, those in licensure programs and college seniors planning to attend graduate school to apply for the Geetha Arulmohan Scholarship Award.  This education scholarship is in the amount of $500 and is available to Merce...

  The National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA) and the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) will be holding their annual event, National Alcohol and Drugs Facts Week March 22-28, 2021. This annual event brings together teens and community groups to bring awareness and 'SHATTER THE MYTHS" about drugs and alcohol. In this session of Talking Points for Teens we discuss 5 fac...

During the pandemic, violence, both physical and verbal, against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) has increased dramatically -- hate crimes of this nature, as reported by NPR (cited in a report from the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University), in approximately 16 cities increased by 150% in 2020.  Multiple sources, including NPR and&nbs...

Recently, I had the opportunity to sit down with Rider University's Dr. Jonathan Karp and Issac Harris on their Health 411 program!  Together, we had a beautiful conversation that not only allowed me to highlight Mercer Council and our programs, but to engage on a multitude of topics, including: Career paths and opportunities in the field Societal factors, including social and racial justice ...

Mercer Council is committed to envisioning a Healthy, Safe and Responsible Community.  We are striving to provide more information on Government and community efforts as they relate to COVID-19.  The information and links are below. Mercer County Covid-19 Dashboard For more information on positive-test cases in Mercer county please use the Dashboard link below. Dashboard  Vaccinatio...

 Your brain is the command center and boss of your body. It enables you to think, learn, move, create, feel emotions, as well as, controlling every blink, breath, and heartbeat. Please join us for a free virtual Zoom event where you will learn all about the human brain from a neuroscientist, discover what makes it so fascinating, and why it is especially important to protect it as you grow! T...

When it comes to the opiate crisis, which has had a resurgence in fatal overdoses in the past year, we need to bring to bear every possible resource against it. The hundreds of thousands of Americans who have lost their lives during this crisis should compel us to adopt an all hands and all best-practices model. Yet we have not been doing everything possible to save lives from overdoses, including...

Mercer Council has been privileged to service the DMHAS-funded Opioid Overdose Recovery Program (OORP) contract in Mercer County since 2017.  Through year end 2020, our team of Certified Peer Recovery Specialists and Patient Navigators have serviced nearly 1000 total clients struggling with Opioid-related challenges, providing referrals and linkages to all levels of Substance Use Disorder Car...

Jack L  Jack L wasn’t a famous or even a known black history icon, but he certainly was an unsung hero to me and countless others who struggled with addiction in the New Brunswick area in the early 1980s.  I was introduced to Jack at a local substance abuse treatment facility. I was 21, completely naive to substance misuse and I was placed there during my first year of undergraduate...

“It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.“ “Sobriety is the key to emancipation.” - Frederick Douglass Since we are nearing the end of Black History Month, I wanted to talk about one black man who has worked in alcohol and drug education. I had the pleasure of interviewing Mercer Council's very own, Cy Jones.     He first started off his career as someone who knew...

  In less than five minutes, you can make a big difference in the health and well-being of your community.  Every year, the Prevention Coaliiton of Mercer County distributes this survey in order to help us get a snapshot of our community's progress towards healthy, safe and drug-free environments.  It also assists us in making adjustments to our current and future strategic planning...

This February, the ASYSST Team at Ewing High School, is hosting some fun, virtual activities. Every day, a new post is shared with the students featuring a summary about a prominent/influential African American individual and their contribution to history. We are also hosting a virtual "movie party" every Friday which features a film, selected by students, that shares the story of an African Ameri...

Valentine’s Day is just around the corner and we all know that the day of romance is symbolized by hearts. Chocolate boxes, balloons, cards, candles, and much more are formed in the shape of a heart and given as gifts to loved ones on this day. The heart being the symbol of love and passion has existed for a long time in history. Ancient Greek and Roman thinkers, including Aristotle, considered th...

Hello everyone! On January 28th, I did another Let’s Have A Conversation, I talked about helping children with the Anger and Coping Skills through some Life Skills Training and added research to help. While it introduced new concepts, the practical advice could be very useful for those looking at doable practices. Here is the link to the January 28th meeting: We are featuring two of Mercer Council...

TALKING POINTS FOR TEENS Now That Marijuana Is Legal, What Does It Mean For Teens? Is marijuana safe now that it is legal? Is it legal for everyone? Are there dangers to using marijuana? These are some of the questions teens might be having when it comes to the legalization of marijuana. My name is Amy Argiriou, I am the facilitator for the Botvins LifeSkills Training program for middle school stu...