SCRATCH Meeting Minutes

January 14, 2014

Welcome and Introductions

Old Business

SCRATCH Newsletter

The most recent newsletter was distributed to members via email in December. Please share and brag

about the good work done by SCRATCH!

Rx Drug Drop Box Magnets

Magnets that were shaped like prescription drug bottles and had the Salem County drop box locations on

them were delivered to all pharmacies in Salem County. Only one store refused the magnets, citing corporate

policy not to put anything up or give anything out. Thank you to all coalition members who helped deliver

magnets!

Funeral Home Policy Project

One of the coalition’s short term outcomes is to, “Increase funeral homes that have policies to deliver

information about proper Rx drug disposal to all clients.” A packet was created for distribution to funeral home

directors. The goal of the packet is to inform directors of the problem of prescription drug abuse and to encourage

them to agree to implement a policy of informing client of proper drug disposal and nearby prescription drug drop

boxes. The packet included an agreement for funeral home directors or owners to sign, as well as sample

information to be distributed. So far we have two agreements signed from funeral homes in Cumberland county

and one from Salem county. Cory mailed each funeral home a packet but is finding it hard to speak to the right

person over the phone, so she will be hand-delivering packets to funeral homes in Salem County (the CCHCC

will be delivering to Cumberland County). The packets will be delivered in the next couple of weeks.

Media Campaign-Marijuana

Four new billboards were recently erected in Salem and Cumberland counties geared toward raising

awareness about the dangers of legalizing recreational marijuana. The two slogans featured were, “Marijuana has

the potential to be the next Big Tobacco” and “Marijuana will increase public costs.” These marijuana billboards

are a continuation of the media campaign launched by The Southwest Council in fall targeting underage drinking

and prescription drug abuse.

Tree of Hope

The Tree of Hope Event held by The Southwest Council on December 15th was a successful evening.

Guest speakers spoke at the event about recovery and sobriety. The Southwest Council presented a check for $800

to the Hendricks House Group, a network of addiction recovery halfway houses. Articles about the event appeared

in The Daily Journal and the South Jersey Times. SCRATCH Coalition members were instrumental in promoting

the event. Thank you!

RX Drug Planning Committee Meeting

The SCRATCH Coalition is continuing its relationship with the Cumberland County Prosecutor’s Office,

the Cumberland County Healthy Communities Coalition and the Vineland Municipal Alliance to tackle

prescription drug abuse in the region. Our latest effort includes connecting with students and administrators at

Cumberland County College to partner with them on future events and initiatives. We will begin by tapping into

existing events coming up in the spring. CCC has an upcoming Health Fair and Spring Fling in March that we

will participate in. We may partner with the college to create a multi-media campaign involving a PSA later this

year. Next meeting will be held on Monday, January 26, 2015 at 9 am. Contact Cory at

cory@southwestcouncil.org if you’re interested in joining this subcommittee.

New Business

Getting to know SCRATCH Members: Mark Anderson, Cumberland County Prosecutor’s Office

Mark Anderson spoke about his family history and his journey with the prosecutor’s office.

The Community Justice Unit consists of just him! His role is to support local law enforcement and crime

prevention, whether it is prescription drug abuse or supporting the community with prevention needs. Mark has

participated in over 100 presentations for school and the community, mainly about bullying and anti-violence.

Mark noted his focus recently in working with gang management and anti-violence is to not just give a one-time

presentation, but to follow up and build relationships with the schools and community.

Next month we’ll be introduced to Ryan McGuckin, Outreach Coordinator for Lumiere Detox Center.

Meeting with Senator Sweeney

In a recent training by the New Jersey Prevention Network it was recommended that regional coalitions

make a focused effort to build relationships with local legislators. Legislators where contacted by Cory and as a

result a meeting will take place on January 15, 2015 at Senator Sweeney’s office. An informational packet will be

given to each legislator about SCRATCH and what SCRATCH does in the region. An invitation will be extended

for Sen. Sweeney to come and join SCRATCH for any upcoming events. Senator Sweeney represents Salem and

Cumberland counties. Amy volunteered to attend the meeting. Any available SCRATCH members are

encouraged to attend this and any other future meetings with legislators.

Meeting with Congressman LoBiondo Congressman LoBiondo office recently returned Cory’s request for a meeting. His office said the

secretary in the Mays Landing office will be in touch soon. Cory will email coalition members as meetings are

scheduled.

Prescription Monitoring Program Training with Inspira Doug Collier has been working with hospitals across New Jersey to train staff about the Prescription

Monitoring Program. The training is 1-2 hours long and is usually held during the regularly scheduled hospital

personnel training times. However, Cory contacted the person in charge of trainings with Inspira and said the

coalition would like to extend the invitation to prescribers from the private sector as well as doctors in the Inspira

Network. Because the event will be for a wider range of prescribers in the community, it will have to be held in a

bigger venue like Cumberland County College. We will probably partner with the CCHCC and GRASP coalitions

and possibly the Cumberland County Prosecutor’s Office on this effort. The training will most likely happen in

April.

Marijuana Informational Video with Salem or Cumberland Community College

Cory is in the process of creating a presentation to educate the region about the dangers of marijuana. The

video will be about 5 to 7 minutes and involve charts and graphics as opposed to actors delivering a script. The

video will hopefully be shown in schools during the morning announcements and any other venue that would be

appropriate. Cory is checking with Salem County Community College to see if we can work with their graphics

department? It was suggested that Cory check with the vocational and high schools as well. Pennsville school

district invited Cory to come out and speak about marijuana at an upcoming guidance counselor in-service

training in February.

Senior Health Outreach Project (SHOP) and Partnership for Success (PFS)

Gloria will be starting a new senior task force through the PFS called SHOP. Brochures about SHOP

were passed around and everyone was encouraged to invite any seniors or people who work with seniors to join

the task force. Gloria will also be meeting with a group to plan a military conference for the spring. A survey was

presented that Gloria will be distributing among senior groups she presents to in order to gauge knowledge and

collect data about prescription drug abuse in the region. She will also be creating a digital form of the survey that

will be sent out to coalition members. Please pass the survey along to any seniors you know or people you know

who work with seniors.

Promotional items are in

Promotional items were handed out to all SCRATCH members. Members are encouraged to use their

SCRATCH bags, notebooks and other goodies to advertise the coalition.

Community Involvement Agreement

Members were asked to complete a Community Involvement Agreement for coalition files. If you have not yet

filled out an agreement, please complete the form attached and email/mail/fax back to Cory. This form is just for

SCRATCH coalition records.

Who is SCRATCH? Activity

With the new year upon is, it is a good time to refresh our “pitch” about SCRATCH. Members were

guided to craft a 30-second elevator speech describing the coalition’s purpose and achievements. If you missed

the meeting, please see the attached form and brochure to brush up on your answer to “What is SCRATCH?”

Then and Now Video

The coalition watched a 10-minute video titled “Then and Now” that compared the emerging marijuana

industry to the tobacco industry. The video was well received by the members who were present at the meeting

and Beth Thomas requested Cory come and present the video to the Cumberland County Health Department at an

upcoming meeting.

Member Roundtable

Cory Gilden (SCRATCH Coalition Coordinator): Distributed flyers for the upcoming NJPN conference in

Atlantic City March 6. Also distributed flyers advertising the new “warm”line called NJCONNECT for Recovery

for help/support for those who either are addicted to heroin or prescription drugs or family members of someone

that is using.

Melissa Niles (First Step): Melissa shared about the MCAT advocacy program. She praised how the governor’s

recent State of the State speech supported recovery services. There was a strong approval rate for a bill for drug

court clients to get their records expunged, with the fee waived. It has one more vote to pass before becoming law.

Melissa also spoke about the shortcomings of the Interlock device such as the fact that no one analyzes the data

collected and that some alerts that it is supposed to trigger (making the headlights flash and horn honk if the

driver is over the appropriate limits) do not work.

Janine Fabrizio (The Southwest Council): The Southwest Council will unfortunately not be able to fund

coalition members to attend the NJPN conference in Atlantic City this year, as they have in the past. However,

GCADA is offering scholarships to those who are in municipal alliances. Please look on the conference website at

www.njpn.org/registration for more information. The Southwest Council has been awarded new grants and will

be expanding its evidence-based services in Cumberland and Salem counties. The agency will be hiring 4 more

employees to deliver programs. Anyone who is interested can email a resume and cover letter to

info@southwestcouncil.org.