COA School Presentations

To help prevent drug abuse and addiction, City of Angels NJ, Inc. speaks at schools, community groups and civic events to educate both adolescents and adults. Recent speaking engagements include the Toms River, Lawrence Townships, Robbinsville and Hamilton Township public schools; Mercer County Community College and Rider University; Robert Wood Johnson Hospital at Hamilton; Capital Health; and Mercer Regional Chamber of Commerce. All COA presentations are free of charge to the host organization and typically include both COA volunteers and young people in recovery.

“Our students really benefitted from COA’s presentation – they were attentive and very absorbed into the program. They got a lot out of it.” – Robert Hutchinson, Vice President, Reynolds Middle School, Hamilton, NJ

“Thank you and your entire team for the moving presentation at our PTA meeting. Thank you for sharing your stories and giving us hope! I know you enlightened many in the room.” Mrs. Anne Reap, Lower School Director, Trenton Catholic Academy

“Thank you for taking the time to speak to our students. It’s very impactful to hear personal stories…it definitely says “this can happen to me” or people I care about.” Ms. Dorothy Gasparro, EdS, LPC, NCC, Senior Counselor, Mercer County Community College

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The goal of each presentation is to educate attendees about the realities of drug addiction in New Jersey:

  • We speak from our experience
  • We offer examples and illustrate through stories
  • We present facts and information
  • We focus on positive outcomes but do not ignore negative consequences
  • We welcome questions and provide candid answers
  • We respect participants’ points of view and allow them to draw their own conclusions

The Agenda Covers:

Scope of the addiction problem in New Jersey

COA Founder Kevin Meara

  • Kevin’s story and why he started COA
  • The inspiration behind COA: Kevin’s son K.C. Meara

Young adults in recovery

  • How their drug use began
  • Escalation of drug use and addiction
  • Life in active addiction
  • How they came to COA
  • How COA worked with them and their families
  • Addiction treatment
  • Post-treatment support
  • Where they are now
  • Plans for the future

Recent News About Drug Addiction in New Jersey

Drug/alcohol addiction and overdose has become a major public health problem in New Jersey:

For more information about COA visit:

  • The COA Events Webpage click here for details about COA’s participation in community events
  • The COA Online Calendar click here for details about the 15 weekly support group meetings at COA
  • The COA YouTube channel click here for more than 70 COA videos
  • The COA Facebook group click here for recent COA news and community chat
  • The COA Testimonials Webpage click here for letters from families COA has helped

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