In an effort to combat the ever-growing opioid epidemic, a county that accounted for more than 400 of New Jersey’s fatal overdose deaths since 2015 is ramping up an outreach initiative aimed at getting help to those with an addiction.

Union County authorities encouraged nearly 130 people to seek help for opioid abuse during Operation Helping Hand, a week-long initiative through which those battling substance abuse - including many who have been arrested for minor drug-related offenses - are offered rehabilitation, said Mark Spivey, spokesman for the Union County Prosecutors Office.

The county - the third most densely-populated in the state - participated in Operation Helping Hand for the second year and saw an increase in the number of people agreeing to enter a rehabilitation program, Spivey said. The program focused on those who were arrested for drug offenses, such as those coming back from purchasing heroin.

About 88% of the 148 people arrested during the initiative agreed to engage in some form of assistance, up from 81% of 102 people contacted in 2018, Spivey said.

The program was first started by then-Bergen County Prosecutor Gurbir S. Grewal in 2016, who continued it as state attorney general. It focuses on local and county law enforcement officers arresting users purchasing heroin, OxyContin or other narcotics, Spivey said. Nearly 20 local agencies participated this year.

While the person is being processed at the jail, recovery specialists and healthcare providers on scene are waiting to connect them with treatment and services.

“A lot of people don’t believe us at first, while you’re processing them," said Union County Task Force Sgt. Filipe Afonso. "But once they do, they’re very thankful. We’re the first contact, so once we’re about to get them help, we get the ‘thank you.’

"We’re able to help people who need it.”

The charges aren’t dropped from their record, Afonso said, but judges presiding over the cases are informed of the defendant’s effort to rehabilitate, which could lead to a more lenient sentence.

The county was home to 133 overdoses in 2018, double from the 64 opioid-related deaths in 2015. Nearly two dozen fatal overdoses have already occurred in Union County as of March 2019, Spivey said.

“Year to year, it’s a pretty stark difference," said Lt. William Mannix, commander of the narcotic strike force. He pointed out that “Fentanyl was a game changer” for the increase in fatal overdoses.

He said without the use of Narcan, an opioid overdose antidote that likely saved more than 15,000 lives nationwide in 2018, the death tolls would be “astronomical.”

“It would be easily double, if not triple, or more,” Mannix said. “And that’s only was the police force uses. When you factor in (emergency services), it’s definitely more.”

In part, officials attribute the growth in those who want help to Grewal’s expansion of Operation Helping Hand, providing Union County with roughly $60,000 in grant funding made available from the state Department of Health to Union County.

The grant money will, in addition to being used to fund police overtime and training, provide more comprehensive data collection and more extensive check-ins, said Morgan Thomspon, chief executive officer of Prevention Links, a Roselle-based nonprofit dedicated to fighting substance abuse.

“The grant allowed us to have more recovery specialists on site and has us continuing to follow up with the people in the six months following. It’s all about that, keeping them engaged,” Thompson added.

Of the 83 participants in 2018, 30 continued progress in recovery programs six months after the operation, she said.

Authorities also said people are more likely to take it upon themselves to get help when law enforcement conducts initiatives like this. Of the 148 who sought help, 25 were walk-ins, Alonso noted.

“To anyone who thinks society should just give up on addicts, they by and large want help. And we want to give it to them,” Mannix said.

Reporter Steve Stirling contributed to this report.

Sophie Nieto-Munoz may be reached at snietomunoz@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her at @snietomunoz. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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