OUR HISTORY & ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Before 1975, New Jersey residents who could not afford private residential
treatment for alcoholism had to travel to Graymoor in upstate New York
for help. Turning Point’s founders were determined to change this
situation. This group of local government leaders arranged with Essex
County for the lease of a building on Hilltop, former site of the TB center
on the grounds of the Essex County Hospital.
1975
-
Original Turning Point facility opens on March 17th on the Essex County Hospital grounds in Cedar Grove with a grant from
the Essex County Freeholders. Offers 10 bed residential treatment program
for indigent men struggling with alcoholism. John Tully is named Executive
Director. Building dedication held on June 8th
1979
- Turning Point became one of the first to open a residential treatment program
for women, which now treats pregnant and post-partum women and those with
co-occurring disorders.
1980
- Turning Points facility is rededicated on June 24th and named for Douglas
McCarthy who passed away in September 1979
1981
- In response to the “deinstitutionalization” of those with substance
use and co-occurring disorders, Turning Point opened an outpatient program
in Newark which operated for 17 years
1982
- James “Doc” Wheeler is names Executive Director of Turning
Point and holds the position until his passing on 1984
1983
- Turning Point secured Mutual Agreement Program contracts to provide residential
addiction treatment for patients on probation and parole.
1988
- With a grant from the Department of Human Services, Division of Mental
Health Services, Turning Point begins to provide short-term residential
treatment for mentally ill chemical abusers (MICAs).
1991
- Turning Point moved from its original location at the Essex County Hospital
Center to a temporary space in the Freeman Pavilion, and finally to Building
14 on Dill Drive in Cedar Grove.
- Turning Point received its first county grant for detoxification and short-term
residential treatment.
1993
- Turning Point was selected as one of only five providers to participate
in the Campus Treatment Project in Secaucus. The program included a 54-bed,
short-term residential treatment for men (32) and women (22). When the
project ended in 1996, DAS continued to fund short-term residential treatment
for adult men and women. Turning Point remained in Seances until moving
to Paterson in 2010.
1998
- New Jersey’s Work First Substance Abuse Initiative (SAI) is implemented
to coordinate services for patients who needed to address addiction issues
so they could obtain employment under new welfare reform laws. Turning
Point devotes residential treatment beds to support clients moving from
welfare to work.
2000
- First accreditation by the Commission on the Accreditation of Rehabilitation
Facilities (CARF).
- Turning Point obtained a grant to provide outreach and assessments for
New Jersey’s Division of Youth and Family Services (DYFS). Many
women began being referred to treatment through this project.
