Mercer Council News
Keep up to date with our news and activities
After a thorough and inclusive interview process, the Executive Board and the Mercer Council on Alcoholism and Drug Addiction (MCADA) staff are pleased to announce hiring their new Executive Director, Ms. Margarita Leahy. She officially joined our team on May 23, 2022. Ms. Leahy comes to the council leadership position as a bilingual, bicultu...
We want to thank Brian Bittings, OORP Patient Navigator, for the 4 years he has spent leading our OORP team. Brian decided to move on from the Mercer Council mid-October. We wish him all the best in the next chapter of his journey. We want to congratulate David DeCamp, who has fully transitioned from the role of Assistant Patient Navigator/Re...
OORP's Dream Team of Certified Peer Recovery Specialists, spread hope and healing as they reflect on the gift of recovery and what being in recovery means to them! For some Recovery Month inspiration, check out what they have to say! 💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜 Marc North, Stacey Ross, James Boozan, Brian Bittings, Jon Macciocca, Dave...
So many faces and voices of recovery have paved the way for countless others to reach their goals with the hope and healing that is generated through connections, support and a shared peer recovery experience. One of the faces and voices making a huge impact in the recovery community is Mercer Council's own, Stacey Ross, a Certified Peer Recovery Specialist with our Opioid Overdose Reco...
Recovery Specialists Stacey Ross and Marc North joined me to visit Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Hamilton, one of Mercer Council OORP's key partners, to regroup after a period of Tele-Recovery Support services. The team pivoted to Tele-Recovery Support because of a pandemic that completely consumed our hospital partners, our community and the world. In order to do our part to...
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...
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 ...
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...
Dear Mercer Council Family, Friends and Community – At the close of the year 2020, a year quite like no other, we reflect on the hardships, the uncertainty, the pain and loss, social and physical isolation, among many other challenges the year has thrown at us. This year has been an emotional roller coaster, at times very difficult and uncomfortable to bear. We’ve seen our colle...
Greetings to our Mercer Council Family, Extended Family, Community Partners and Mercer County Community - It is hard to believe that the holiday season is upon us. It has been a tumultuous year, filled with pain, suffering, sickness, loss, unpredictability, financial instability, social/physical isolation, among other hardships. With these things, however, has come a sense of deep...
This past week, I was honored to be invited to share space with Stacey Ross and Marc North of Recovery Advocates of America on their show, 'The Fix'. In addition to their roles at Recovery Advocates, Stacey and Marc are also Recovery Specialists on Mercer Council's OORP Team. Through both of their roles, they are well versed in all things recovery and we are lucky to have their voices....
Mercer Council is currently interviewing qualified candidates to fill two openings in our Available School Youth Services Support Team (ASYSST) School Based Youth Services Program at Ewing High School! Both positions allow for freedom to create a variety of activities and programming to support the school community, students and families as they navigate the high school years and challenges...
For many of us, 2020 has been like no other in recent memory. Public health restrictions caused by the crippling coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic have led to cancelled sporting events, concerts and other leisure activities we were accustomed to enjoying. Many vacations, graduations, and large celebrations have been put on hold, or eliminated. Despite the adjustments caused by th...
We are pleased to report that in early October, Governor Phil Murphy devised a last minute budget adjustment with the support of several legislative leaders that approved the restoration of the School Based Youth Service Program! This decision results in the restoration of Mercer Council’s ASYSST Program and nearly 100 other school based youth service programs, effective O...
The Opioid Overdose Recovery Program (OORP) team has been hard at work during the pandemic, ensuring that the invaluable Recovery Support services typically provided, continue to be available, accessible and effective no matter what challenges and barriers are going on in the world right now. The Mercer OORP team has worked with 921 individuals to ...
Mercer Council team members Malissa Arnold, Jocelyn Cooper and David DeCamp all spent their Saturday supporting strong community partner, Recovery Advocates of America as they hosted their 8th Annual 5k Fundraising Walk/Run. Despite the pandemic, Recovery Advocates safely hosted another very popular and well attended event (over 400 participants!!), that not only raises awareness about subst...
Friday afternoon September 4th was a day that will live long in the history of school-based youth service programs. It’s a day where the students of the program took a voice to speak about the value of the program, services, and resources School Based Services offers to over 90 sites across the state of New Jersey. As an employee of Mercer Council and having been a part of the school-based youth s...
Action Requested: Commissioner Christine Norbut Beyer CUTS ALL Funding to School Based Youth Services Program, (Our ASYSST Program) eliminating mental health services for students. Several weeks ago I began working on a glowing report to share about the incredible Virtual Leadership Academy the ASYSST School Based youth Services Program successfully implemented the last week in ...
The Perfect Storm When opioid addiction and COVID-19 diverge or meet head-on this has created the perfect storm. Both catastrophic events have caused unprecedented challenges to the healthcare system impacting the care that is vital to our patient/client population. COVID-19 has impacted every aspect of our lives from uncertainty of our health as well as our families, unemployment, financial conce...
