Paterson, New Jersey, is the third-largest city in the state and serves as the seat of Passaic County, New Jersey. It is located along major interstate thoroughfares within miles of the New York City and state borders and those of Pennsylvania and Connecticut. The Partnerships project lead was the Paterson Police Department (PD). Analysis of overdose and treatment data during the planning phase led to the designation of a “high-risk corridor” where a disproportionate number of overdoses occur. Currently, the Paterson PD has implemented two activities:

• The Paterson PD funded a community partner to provide education and outreach in the high-risk corridor. The agency provided substance use education to reduce stigma and raise awareness of community treatment and recovery resources, including medication-assisted treatment. The partner agency also provided individualized outreach to overdose victims and linked them to treatment.
• The Paterson PD’s data manager and research partner worked with the city department of public safety to facilitate the overdose data collection and analysis to support the overdose outreach activities.