Since 1978 Mercer Council has been creating pathways to reduce mental health challenges in Mercer County. Through unifying our constituents, providing education, and intervention services Mercer Council has begun building the world we collectively envisioned. As we highlight in October the various preventable measures and intervention services avai...
After a thorough and inclusive interview process, the Executive Board and the Mercer Council on Alcoholism and Drug Addiction (MCADA) staff are pleased to announce hiring their new Executive Director, Ms. Margarita Leahy. She officially joined our team on May 23, 2022. Ms. Leahy comes to the council leadership position as a bilingual, bicultu...
On April 9, 2022, several Mercer Council staff members participated in the second annual Bike Drive hosted by Mercer County and the Park Commission. Bicycles were accepted (no matter the condition) and were transported to the Trenton Bike Exchange (located in Ewing, NJ). There, they will be refurbished by volunteers and then sold to the public for ...
Established by Congress in 1961, Poison Prevention Week (held the third week of March every year) aims to raise awareness to poison control centers, the Poison Help Hotline (1-800-222-1222), and lower the incidences of unintentional poisonings. These poisons include and are not limited to animal bites and stings, carbon monoxide, household, and che...
Greetings to our Mercer Council Family, Extended Family, Community Partners, and Mercer County Community - A warm and heartfelt thank you for your continued loyalty and support of our agency and work throughout the year. Wishing you and yours all the peace and joy in this holiday season and the New Year!
We want to thank Brian Bittings, OORP Patient Navigator, for the 4 years he has spent leading our OORP team. Brian decided to move on from the Mercer Council mid-October. We wish him all the best in the next chapter of his journey. We want to congratulate David DeCamp, who has fully transitioned from the role of Assistant Patient Navigator/Re...
We are excited to announce that we are on GreatNonprofits.org—a review site like Yelp, but for nonprofits! Do you have a story or experience with Mercer Council that you would like to share with others? If so, please leave us a review—we'd love to hear from you! Mercer Council On Alcoholism And Drug Addiction Reviews and Ratings | Lawrence Township...
A blog post was written in October 2020 to recognize October as National Eat Better, Eat Together Month. The purpose of National Eat Better, Eat Together Month is to promote healthy eating habits among individuals of all ages. Research shows there are many benefits of families frequently eating dinner together including improved social skills in ch...
OORP's Dream Team of Certified Peer Recovery Specialists, spread hope and healing as they reflect on the gift of recovery and what being in recovery means to them! For some Recovery Month inspiration, check out what they have to say! 💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜 Marc North, Stacey Ross, James Boozan, Brian Bittings, Jon Macciocca, Dave...
Labor Day is Monday, September 6, 2021. This holiday (which has been nationally celebrated in the U.S. since 1894) recognizes the American Labor Movement and celebrates the economic and social contributions of workers. The day signifies the end of summer, the beginning of autumn, and the anticipation of a new school year ahead. On this day, many in...
From the choices below, can you guess the type of driver (based on vehicle type) responsible for the highest percentage of alcohol-related fatal crashes in 2019? Is it A.) bus driver, B.) car driver, C.) motorcycle driver, or D.) truck driver? The correct answer is C.) motorcycle driver. Among the alcohol-impaired drivers involved in fatal cr...
4 Types of Grief Nobody Told You About | Psychology Today And why it’s important that we call them grief. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/between-the-generations/201904/4-types-grief-nobody-told-you-about#:~:text=%204%20Types%20of%20Grief%20Nobody%20Told%20You,one%E2%80%99s%20own%20life%20and%20affairs.%0AExamples%20include%3A%0AA...%20More...
In honor of June being National Safety Month, an important safety topic I would like to discuss in this blog pertains to the dangers of drunk driving, drugged driving, and underage drinking. With the official start of summer looming coupled with the anticipation that comes with social isolation lockdown restrictions being eased, people are gearing ...
So many faces and voices of recovery have paved the way for countless others to reach their goals with the hope and healing that is generated through connections, support and a shared peer recovery experience. One of the faces and voices making a huge impact in the recovery community is Mercer Council's own, Stacey Ross, a Certified Peer Recovery Specialist with our Opioid Overdose Reco...
Recovery Specialists Stacey Ross and Marc North joined me to visit Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Hamilton, one of Mercer Council OORP's key partners, to regroup after a period of Tele-Recovery Support services. The team pivoted to Tele-Recovery Support because of a pandemic that completely consumed our hospital partners, our community and the world. In order to do our part to...
Mercer Council would like to thank Mercer County and the Park Commission for having Vanessa DeRosa, PYPM Program Coordinator, join them at a Bike Drive they hosted at several locations throughout the county on April 10, 2021. Bicycles were accepted (no matter the condition) and were transported to the Trenton Bike Exchange (located in Ewing, NJ). There, they will be fixed by volunteers and then so...
Mercer Council extends a thank you to all participants who joined us on March 17, 2021 for the Brain Awareness Zoom webinar, “Learn Neuroscience: Alcohol and the Developing Brain”. A special thank you also to Dr. Rola Bekdash from Rutgers University for providing the students an insightful and informative presentation about the inner workings of the human mind and effects of alcohol on the develop...
Our recent antiracism training facilitated by Kimme Carlos put me in touch with many of my personal emotions. I have always felt uncomfortable discussing issues associated with racism. I know it exists and I know it is sometimes necessary, but as a black man who has lived through it, the idea of discussing it at a times when I don’t necessarily have to is very difficult. Not only does it harbor di...
During the pandemic, violence, both physical and verbal, against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) has increased dramatically -- hate crimes of this nature, as reported by NPR (cited in a report from the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University), in approximately 16 cities increased by 150% in 2020. Multiple sources, including NPR and&nbs...
Recently, I had the opportunity to sit down with Rider University's Dr. Jonathan Karp and Issac Harris on their Health 411 program! Together, we had a beautiful conversation that not only allowed me to highlight Mercer Council and our programs, but to engage on a multitude of topics, including: Career paths and opportunities in the field Societal factors, including social and racial justice ...
Your brain is the command center and boss of your body. It enables you to think, learn, move, create, feel emotions, as well as, controlling every blink, breath, and heartbeat. Please join us for a free virtual Zoom event where you will learn all about the human brain from a neuroscientist, discover what makes it so fascinating, and why it is especially important to protect it as you grow! T...
Jack L Jack L wasn’t a famous or even a known black history icon, but he certainly was an unsung hero to me and countless others who struggled with addiction in the New Brunswick area in the early 1980s. I was introduced to Jack at a local substance abuse treatment facility. I was 21, completely naive to substance misuse and I was placed there during my first year of undergraduate...
Valentine’s Day is just around the corner and we all know that the day of romance is symbolized by hearts. Chocolate boxes, balloons, cards, candles, and much more are formed in the shape of a heart and given as gifts to loved ones on this day. The heart being the symbol of love and passion has existed for a long time in history. Ancient Greek and Roman thinkers, including Aristotle, considered th...
In the Protecting You, Protecting Me program, children learn about the constant communication that happens between the human brain and the rest of the body. They learn that their brain and body send each other messages all day, every day, to keep their body working so they can do everything they are meant to do as human beings. In honor of National Lego day on January 28, 2021, I came up with an i...
In the program I teach called Protecting You, Protecting Me (for children in grades K-5), one of the topics I discuss with students is the reasons for rules and laws. They learn that rules and laws are in place to protect themselves and others (i.e. wearing a helmet to protect the brain), show respect toward others (i.e. being polite), and to show order (i.e. not cutting others while in line at a ...
A special thank you to all who participated in the Healthy Family Food Recipe Submission Contest. Three winners have been selected to receive a $25 ShopRite gift card, a goodie bag filled with Mercer Council giveaway items, and have their recipes featured in an upcoming recipe book. Congratulations Gionna, Vanya, and Isabelle! Your recipes look and sound delicious and are truly a healthy choice fo...
Dear Mercer Council Family, Friends and Community – At the close of the year 2020, a year quite like no other, we reflect on the hardships, the uncertainty, the pain and loss, social and physical isolation, among many other challenges the year has thrown at us. This year has been an emotional roller coaster, at times very difficult and uncomfortable to bear. We’ve seen our colle...
Greetings to our Mercer Council Family, Extended Family, Community Partners and Mercer County Community - It is hard to believe that the holiday season is upon us. It has been a tumultuous year, filled with pain, suffering, sickness, loss, unpredictability, financial instability, social/physical isolation, among other hardships. With these things, however, has come a sense of deep...
On October 29,2020 Program Coordinators, Amy Argiriou,and Vanessa DeRosa presented a webinar on Parental Empowerment: Combating Substance Abuse In Young Adolescents.The webinar focused on a discussion on the dangers of underage drinking, effects of alcohol and drugs on the developing brain, and how to talk to your kids about drugs and alcohol. We know with the pandemic, working from home, po...
This past week, I was honored to be invited to share space with Stacey Ross and Marc North of Recovery Advocates of America on their show, 'The Fix'. In addition to their roles at Recovery Advocates, Stacey and Marc are also Recovery Specialists on Mercer Council's OORP Team. Through both of their roles, they are well versed in all things recovery and we are lucky to have their voices....
Mercer Council on Alcoholism & Drug Addiction
1931 Brunswick Avenue
Lawrence Township, NJ 08648
Tel - (609) 396-5874
Email - mcada@mercercouncil.org
Hours - Mon - Fri 8am - 4pm
