Centenary University has been awarded a $5,000 grant renewal from the Hackettstown Medical Center Community Advisory Board to continue a community-wide substance abuse prevention and addiction recovery support program. The program seeks to increase awareness of the signs, symptoms, and risk factors of substance abuse and addictions through training sessions held at the University and in the local community.

In the first phase of the grant, Centenary initiated a series of education and awareness  workshops to equip college students in addiction recovery with information, skills, and peer support to manage their own recovery. In partnership with organizations including Trinity Church in Hackettstown and the Hackettstown Stigma Free Task Force, the grant activities also engaged area high school students and their families—as well as professionals including teachers—to learn the skills to prevent substance abuse and identify those in need of intervention and support. 

Through the grant renewal, the University will expand its partnerships and reach to include Hackettstown High School and the Hackettstown Hope Coalition, which seeks to engage the local community to prevent youth substance use. Workshops will be coordinated by Centenary University’s Graduate Clinical Counseling and School Counseling programs. The Graduate Clinical Counseling program is an approved educational provider by the Addictions Professionals Certification Board of New Jersey and operates an addiction track that provides the required 270 alcohol and drug counselors training hours for licensure as a clinical alcohol and drug counselor in New Jersey. The Graduate School Counseling program is one of the University’s Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) accredited programs and is an approved educational services preparation program by the New Jersey Department of Education.

“Community is at the heart of this grant and the University’s outreach efforts to prevent substance abuse and support addiction recovery,” said Centenary University Vice President for Campus Life and Dean of Students Kerry Mullins. “Through the partnerships the University has developed, we are leveraging our shared resources and collective purpose to educate the area’s high school and college populations and their families about risk factors associated with substance use, as well as early intervention strategies for addiction and recovery.” 

Workshops funded through the first phase of the grant included a Recovery During the Holidays program last November at Trinity Church, which drew approximately two dozen people currently in recovery, as well as family members of those in recovery. The event presented specific strategies to help attendees and their loved ones remain safe and substance free during the holiday season. 

“Addiction treatment is a finite process, whereas recovery is a lifelong endeavor,” explained Centenary University Professor of Counseling and Director of the Graduate Counseling Programs Keith Morgen, Ph.D., LPC, ACS. “Continuing to provide informational and social support is critical to lifelong recovery success. Centenary University’s Graduate Clinical and School Counseling programs are proud to collaborate with our community partners to offer this recovery support to the University and the broader community.” 

ABOUT CENTENARY UNIVERSITY 
Centenary University offers extraordinary learning opportunities that empower students to develop intellectually, emotionally, and interculturally—keys to career and personal success. Under the leadership of President Dale Caldwell, Ed.D., the University aspires to advance its reputation as a world class institution offering innovative programs, including the world’s first Master of Arts in Happiness Studies, to lift the future for our students and local communities.