In Monmouth County, a 32-foot van will be spreading the word about fighting addiction and drug abuse.

"Everything that goes along with addiction, we decided collaboratively here in Monmouth County, to take our residents out in a mobile fashion," Monmouth County Sheriff Shaun Golden said about the HOPE One Monmouth Mobile Unit.

Golden says the van combines law enforcement with health and addiction services for individuals and families struggling with drug problems.

"Engagement and education are the key to addressing this epidemic here in Monmouth and Ocean counties," he said.

The van is made possible by the Monmouth sheriff's and prosecutor's offices, police departments, Hackensack Meridian Health, Carrier Clinic, former Gov. Jim McGreevey's New Jersey Reentry Corp., and Mainstream Recovery.

They hope to have the HOPE One Monmouth Mobile Unit at public gathering and places in the county at least once a week.

"We go out into the community in areas that have been hotspots for heroin overdoses in the county, and also fairs and festivals and other large places of gathering, shopping centers and stations — those kind of venues — where we can directly talk to people, not just those who are afflicted with addiction, but the family members," Golden said.

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Joe Cutter is the afternoon news anchor on New Jersey 101.5

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