Prevention Resource Network hosts tour highlighting life-saving services leading up to International Overdose Awareness Day.

Jeffrey Brown, Acting Commissioner for the New Jersey Department of Health (NJDOH), toured Prevention Resource Network’s (PRN) Regional Harm Reduction Center in Asbury Park on Thursday, August 14. The visit, which took place ahead of International Overdose Awareness Day on August 31, also marks the two-year anniversary of NJDOH’s approval of PRN’s mobile harm reduction center and gave Commissioner Brown a first-hand look at PRN’s groundbreaking, life-saving services for people who use substances.

In 2024, more than 80,000 Americans died of drug overdoses, including thousands of New Jerseyans. Overdose is now the leading cause of injury-related death in the United States, affecting families and communities across the country.

Acting Commissioner Brown was joined by Greta Anschuetz, Assistant Commissioner for NJDOH’s Division of HIV, STD, and TB Services, and Charla Cousar, the Division’s Harm Reduction Coordinator/PMO. The tour included the following:

• A walk-through of PRN’s brick-and-mortar Harm Reduction Center
• An overview of the mobile Harm Reduction Center, launched in 2023 to deliver safe, trauma-informed, non-stigmatizing care directly to communities
• A look at Monmouth County’s first 24/7 harm reduction vending machine, launched this past May

In its first week of operation, the vending machine distributed 72 safer smoking kits, 160 syringes, 12 wound care kits, 7 boxes of naloxone, and 3 sharps containers, 47% of which were dispensed outside of traditional business hours.

“By meeting people where they are through a fixed site, mobile unit, and 24/7 vending machine, the Prevention Resource Network is saving lives and connecting people to harm reduction care, treatment, and community support,” said Brown. “This is practical, compassionate, and essential work, and seeing it firsthand today reaffirms how critical our collective efforts are in this space.”

NJDOH approved PRN’s mobile Harm Reduction Center on August 31, 2023, in commemoration of International Overdose Awareness Day. The mobile unit provides naloxone, sterile syringes, safer-use supplies, safe syringe disposal, and direct pathways to substance use disorder treatment, healthcare, and social support services.

Christopher Rinn, President & CEO of VNA Health Group, emphasized the urgency and impact of these interventions. “Every service we provide has the chance to save a life. That includes naloxone from a vending machine, clean syringes from the mobile unit, and peer support at the Harm Reduction Center,” said Rinn. “We’re truly grateful to Commissioner Brown and the Department of Health for partnering with us to expand harm reduction in New Jersey.”

Shannon Preston, MSW, Executive Director of PRN and Director of HIV Community Services for VNA Health Group, was appointed in June to NJDOH’s newly formed Advisory Council on HIV, STIs, and Viral Hepatitis. She highlighted the broader health impact of PRN’s work: “Harm reduction is public health in action. It reduces overdose deaths, prevents the spread of HIV and hepatitis, and builds trust with people who are too often marginalized,” said Preston. “Our team is proud to provide services that are judgment-free, trauma-informed, and rooted in dignity and respect.”

About Visiting Nurse Association Health Group

Founded over 110 years ago with a mission to care for the community, Visiting Nurse Association Health Group (VNA Health Group) empowers individuals and families to live their best lives by offering high-quality, compassionate home health, hospice, visiting physicians, palliative and community-based care, private-pay personal care services as well as primary care for medically underserved patients.

Today, VNA Health Group is a leading nonprofit provider of home and community-based health services in New Jersey. Its unique partnership model with health systems leverages clinical and technical resources to operate VNA of Central Jersey Home Care and Hospice, Robert Wood Johnson Visiting Nurses, VNA of Englewood, Barnabas Health Home Care and Hospice, and Visiting Physician Services.

For more information, please visit https://vnahg.org/.

About the Children and Family Health Institute

As part of its comprehensive approach to community health, VNA Health Group operates the Children and Family Health Institute (CFHI), which serves more than 54,000 clients and families each year. The Institute delivers over 20 life-changing public health programs—including pediatric home care, early intervention, prenatal care, and primary care—providing the care and resources children and families need to live healthier, happier lives. For more information, please visit https://vnahg.org/children-family-health-institute.

About Prevention Resource Network

Prevention Resource Network (PRN) is a program of the Children & Family Health Institute at VNA Health Group. PRN provides low-barrier services to individuals who use drugs, including overdose prevention and naloxone distribution, syringe access, wound care, and connections to healthcare and treatment. The Harm Reduction Center operates as a judgment-free, trauma-informed space for individuals not ready or willing to enter formal substance use treatment. PRN also provides HIV prevention and support services, including rapid HIV testing, case management, PrEP counseling, and STI testing, and operates Project R.E.A.L., a program serving LGBTQ+ young adults ages 18–34 through support groups, social events, and leadership opportunities. For more information, please visit https://prnvnacj.org/.

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