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NUTLEY INTRODUCES PROGRAM TO COMBAT DRUG ABUSE

Nutley Sun - 8/11/2016

Nutley's public safety and health departments, along with the Nutley Board of Education, kicked off "Project Hope: 21st Century Family Advocate Partnership" on Monday.

Wayne resident Linda Lajterman's youngest son, Danny, would have been 22 Tuesday; however, she can no longer wish him a happy birthday.

In February 2014, Lajterman broke down Danny's bedroom door when he didn't answer and found him dead from a drug overdose.

"He didn't do anything that I would perceive as a problem," Lajterman said Monday at the Nutley Public Affairs Department. "He went to school, went to work, had a girlfriend. They were at my house for dinner every night."

Lajterman said that her son's dealer was mixing drugs, and "my unlucky child got the bad batch." The dealer, she said, is facing a five-year sentence.

Following Danny's death, Lajterman published, "Life After You: What Your Death From Drugs Leaves Behind," which explains the funeral and other aftermaths following a drug overdose.

The book caught the attention of Nutley mother Madeleine Mulvaney.

When Mulvaney found heroin in her son's room and he was arrested for another incident, her psychologist advised her to kick her son out of the house until he agreed to get help.

Today, her 28-year-old son is recovering four years from heroin opioid addiction.

"I had no idea it was pills, I wasn't aware of an opioid problem in this country," Mulvaney said.

She said that her son is one of the lucky ones. Ten students from his Class of 2006 have died. The man arrested with her son has died. "That's when it hit home to me," she said.

He recently graduated from the Institute of Audio Research in Manhattan.

"That's why I'm here, to prevent any more kids like him dying," Mulvaney said. "It's a hell going through it. It destroys your family. It destroys the person."

Mulvaney approached Nutley Public Affairs Commissioner Steven Rogers with Lajterman's book a couple of years ago to spread awareness about the drug problem.

Monday, the awareness came full circle.

Partnership

The partnership aims to address drug addiction and its effect on victims, friends and family. It is a sub-component to Helping Our Parents Endure, which Nutley Public Safety Commissioner Alphonse Petracco created in 2008 to educate parents about the dangers of drug and alcohol abuse.

"It's hard on families. It really is a disease. It's an awful disease," Petracco said of addiction.

The partnership will incorporate three components: addressing and treating drug use from a mental health perspective; reviewing criminal statutes related to the use, manufacturing and distribution of illegal narcotics; and providing effective and efficient services that will lead victims and their families to recovery.

"I'd like to see Nutley become a pilot community," Commissioner Rogers said. "If you are caught and arrested for the sale, manufacture and distribution of illegal narcotics, that there would be mandatory 25-year sentence without parole."

"It's tough. It's harsh. But the fact is, unless we get tough on dealers, we're going to see more and more people die as a result of drug abuse," he said.

Rogers stated that the township will send a letter to the New Jersey legislators next week, voicing their concerns on the issues.

Through the partnership, individuals will be encouraged to visit the health department, speak to counselors or to clergy about their addiction, and get the help they need. "No questions will be asked; who you got [the drugs] from, etc.," Rogers said.

One Nutley mother, who declined to be named, said her 32-year-old son overdosed twice this year.

"One of the things that I have found that seems to be working is the companionship with other people who are in the same situation," she said. "I have gone through more than 10 years of this back and forth. Our lives will never be the same."

"As good a Nutley is, we know we have our issues. We know we have our problems," Board of Education President Charlie Kucinski said. "We do have very good counselors onboard, but it's still never enough," he said.

Awareness

Giovanna Aguilar, Public Affairs' Nutley Corps volunteer who will be directing Project Hope, mentioned a YouTube channel, social media, public service announcements and documentaries as ways to raise awareness. The mothers could also share their experiences before classrooms if they choose.

"I'm not a parent. I have nephews, nieces and friends I really care about," Aguilar said. "You are now my family," she told the mothers.

Aguilar will help provide contact information to serve a support group.

"Over the past year and a half, we found a gap between the time the police left homes which lost a young person due to drugs, and the time that [the family] would get some help," Rogers said. "Police have done a great job bringing comfort... [but] what happens the morning after?"

Rogers said the partnership would also work with the Nutley Family Service Bureau.

Nutley Det. Sgt. Mike Padilla said the Nutley Police Department has been working together with NFSB on Nutley Empowering Teens.