Every day, lives are lost to opioid overdoses in New Jersey — often because help isn’t close enough when it’s needed most. Determined to change that, the Hudson Pride Center has launched a new Harm Reduction Kiosk, giving the community direct access to lifesaving tools and information. Out In Jersey spoke with Executive Director Elizabeth Schedl about how this effort is bringing hope and help to those caught in the grip of the crisis.
“This is the first program of its kind here in Hudson County,” Schedl exclaimed. Right outside the Hudson Pride Center’s front door sits this new kiosk, stocked every day with essential wellness items, including Narcan kits, wound care kits, hygiene kits, and other harm reduction materials. The items are available Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., free to the public. Narcan, also known as naloxone, blocks the effects of opioids, and can save a person’s life in an overdose situation. It restores the function of the central nervous system and respiratory system that are slowed by the opioids.
Although there are similar programs in Asbury Park and New Brunswick, many other neighborhoods in New Jersey could benefit from such a lifesaving kiosk. Hudson Pride teamed up with Partners in Prevention, an organization that strives to improve wellness and prevent substance use disorders in Hudson County, to provide the kiosk. Other towns and organizations could similarly find a local partner to guide them and manage the kiosk. Schedl remarked, “From there, securing a visible and accessible location is essential. Additional key steps include engaging stakeholders, ensuring sustainable funding, and determining the right mix of supplies, logistics, and protocols.”
She explained that the major source of funding for such projects comes from opioid settlements. “It also helps educate the community, reduces the stigma surrounding substance use disorder, and connects residents to essential health and wellness services,” she continued. And the need for this was clear. “On our launch day, we completely ran out of kits,” she added.
This kind of venture is in line with Hudson Pride Center’s mission, which is “to promote the health and wellness of the LGBTQ+ community and our wider Hudson County residents,” according to Schedl. “It allows us to provide lifesaving resources, reduce harm, and meet people where they are, without judgment, without barriers, and with compassion.”
Any community center, town hall, or city block could benefit from a Harm Reduction Kiosk. Moreover, the awareness of an overdose situation, and the knowledge of how to administer lifesaving aid and where to obtain it, would avail every citizen in the state.
