Gov. Christie: Your Work Against Addiction, I Believe Truly Is God's Work Here On Earth

Statement

Governor Christie: I was proud to Chair the President's Commission on the opioid crisis, and I used in that national report Rutgers as an example, especially its recovery housing program as what should be a model for the rest of the nation. We shouldn't make it harder, given what the typical college atmosphere is no matter what regarding the use of substances, we shouldn't make it harder for those who are in recovery to get their education. We should give them a safe place for them to be able to follow their path of recovery while they're getting a world class education at Rutgers. We know that the need for substance abuse and behavioral counselors is going to increase by more than 20 percent over the next 10 years because of this crisis. We're going to need more and more people. So how do we get there? Last July we announced a pilot program with Rutgers and our Department of Labor to set up a drug counseling certification and apprenticeship pilot program. New Jersey Healthcare Talent Development Center at Rutgers will launch the nation's first ever, the first ever, state-wide apprenticeship program for certified alcohol and drug counselors, first one in the nation. As a result, Rutgers and its employer partners will be providing free training for 200 new certified counselors. While other institutions offer similar training, this grant makes Rutgers the only one in America to do so through an earn-while-you-learn apprenticeship program. The men and women that you all are going to help through this program will do things that we can never even imagine. When you restore their health to them through this counseling, they will accomplish great things, also--make our communities and our state a better place. And, even more importantly, once again become functioning mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers, and sons and daughters to their families. And we know that makes us a better state and it makes us better people. So, your work in this area, I believe truly is God's work here on Earth, to help restore life and to give it meaning again and purpose for those who are suffering from an awful disease. So, for Rutgers, I can't thank you enough for your willingness to be in this partnership. I'm glad to provide some of the money to make it happen and hopefully, to continue, I hope in the next administration, to keep the focus on the fact that over 2,200 New Jersians died last year of a drug overdose and it didn't have to happen. The more we can bring those numbers down the better our state's going to be.

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