Just Navigating Reentry Using Peer Support

In episode five of our Community-based Solutions for Substance Use Challenges season, Just Science sits down with Dr. Nicole Swiderski, New Jersey Path to Recovery Grant Manager, and Jass Pelland, New Jersey Path to Recovery Program Manager, to discuss how the New Jersey State Parole Board’s 2021 Comprehensive Opioid, Stimulant, and Substance Use Program award is supporting peer recovery and other services that help individuals with a substance use disorder navigate reentering the community after release from prison. Those who are reentering the community after being released from prison can face a myriad of challenges, including navigating community supervision requirements, finding housing and treatment services, and facing an increased risk of drug overdose. In response to these challenges, the New Jersey State Parole Board has created the Path to Recovery Program, where peer health navigators partner with parole officers to help guide participants through the difficult reentry process. Listen along as Dr. Swiderski and Jass discuss why they decided to implement a peer-led initiative in the state of New Jersey, what barriers they faced when planning and implementing the program, and how Path to Recovery has made a positive impact both in the lives of individuals and for their state a whole. This Just Science season is supported, in part, by RTI Award No. 15PNIJ-21-GK-02192-MUMU, awarded by the National Institute of Justice, and by RTI Award No. 15PBJA-23-GK-02250-COAP, awarded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance. Both are agencies within the Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice.