The township was honored on a national level for its Project SAVE program.
Mayor David R. Mayer of Gloucester Township has been awarded Honorable Mention at the 2018 City Livability Awards Program during The U.S. Conference of Mayors’ 86th Annual Meeting in Boston.
The award recognizes mayoral leadership in developing and implementing programs that improve the quality of life in America’s cities, focusing on the leadership, creativity, and innovation demonstrated by the mayors. A panel of former mayors selects winners. Awards are given to mayors and their respective cities, including a first-place award, outstanding achievement award and honorable mention.
This is the 39th year in which cities have competed for the award, which is sponsored by the Conference of Mayors and Waste Management, Inc., which is the nation’s largest environmental solutions provider.
“Our City Livability Awards Program gives us the chance to express our pride in cities’ mayoral leadership in making urban areas cleaner, safer and more livable,” said Tom Cochran, CEO and executive director of the Conference of Mayors. “We are grateful to Waste Management for its many years of support for the City Livability Awards Program and for the opportunity to showcase the innovation and commitment of mayors and city governments across the country.”
Susan Moulton, Waste Management’s senior corporate director of Public Sector Solutions, presented the City Livability awards during the annual luncheon in Boston.
“Through the City Livability Awards, Waste Management is immensely proud to honor U.S. mayors who are committed to strengthening our communities and enhancing the lives of their residents across the nation,” Moulton said. “For more than 29 years, Waste Management has sponsored the awards, because the work these mayors do to keep our communities safe, healthy and vibrant aligns directly with our commitment to community vitality by providing innovative, safe and sustainable recycling and waste services.”
Gloucester Township received honorable mention for the Project SAVE (Substance Abuse Visionary Effort) Program. Project SAVE focuses police efforts and practices beyond the “first arrest” and, instead, combines policing initiatives into a more flexible and productive practice involving prevention and intervention.
One of the most significant initiatives associated with Project SAVE, the SAVE Advocate, entails having a drug and alcohol professional in the Gloucester Township Municipal Court.
Gloucester Township was the first in the state to add a professional licensed alcohol and drug counselor to its court. Since the implementation of Project SAVE in June of 2014, the SAVE Advocate has offered services to a total of 158 subjects. Of these 158 people involved in substance abuse, 131 (82 percent) have engaged in the project — meaning that they have participated in some level of treatment. Additionally, of these 131 people, 24 (18 percent) have fully completed treatment, which may consist of either in-patient or outpatient treatment. Some 17 of the 24 (71 percent) have remained arrest free since completing the Project SAVE Program.
“We are honored to receive an award from the U.S. Conference of Mayors, an organization that provides mayors with leadership and management tools that allow us to be even more effective leaders,” Mayer said. “We continuously aim to keep the residents of Gloucester Township safe by introducing new and innovative policing strategies like our SAVE advocates. Our Project SAVE Program has been a tremendous success and we are proud to have been recognized for our efforts on a national level.”
