NJ Health Aging Summit: Opioid Safety & Alternatives

On September 26th, 2025, Life Center Stage was invited to participate in a unique event - The NJ Healthy Aging Summit: Opioid Safety and Alternatives - sponsored by the Partnership for a Drug Free New Jersey and The New Jersey Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services.

We were excited to have a vendor table, where Vicky Mulligan (the executive director) and I were able to speak with the participants passing by about the arts and self expression as a means to wellness, and have them choose from an assortment of journals I was hand calligraphing live (which ended up being scooped up as fast as I could draw!) to use for notes during the conference, or just to doodle. One of our great teaching artists, Daniel McBride, played some of his sound healing instruments at our table in between speakers, before he was featured onstage as a panelist later that afternoon.

Touted as “the first ever statewide conference on Healthy Aging,” the main ballroom at the Golden Nugget Atlantic City Hotel, Casino & Marina was bustling with people who came early and enjoyed an expansive continental buffet breakfast, and then settled in for a day of learning from the various speakers, panelists, and the numerous agency vendors that lined the perimeter of the room. Those in attendance came to understand that 1 in 8 older adults is prescribed opioids for pain management every year, and that New Jersey’s aging population has become increasingly vulnerable in the opioid crisis. 

The Healthy Aging Summit not only gave people information about opioid safety and the ways in which to cope with and manage pain, but it had them up and dancing in interactive wellness breaks led by 2025 AARP-sponsored athletes Shebah Carfagna and Nate Wilkins. As we all got up from our vendor tables to dance, our LCS corner of the room began to sing along with the music, loud and joyously, with Nate singing from the front of the room, and us leading the way in the back, and soon more joined in, like the lovely ladies at the Kessler table next to us who sang, danced and acted out “Do You Believe In Life After Love,” with us! The fun seemed to spread till there were lots of folks singing and dancing - a testament to what the arts can do for mental and physical wellness! 

Partnership for a Drug Free NJ wrote, “The event brought together 500 older adults, caregivers, and healthcare and social service professionals to hear from nationally recognized experts about the risks associated with the misuse of opioid pain relievers by older adults. Presenters also shared information to raise awareness about effective, evidence-based methods that older adults can use to treat acute and chronic pain without opioids.”

At the panel Q & A, Daniel McBride wowed the crowd with his years of experience in sound healing and yoga practices by doing some meditative exercises, and answering questions regarding self-care and healthy daily practices, the overall objectives of the day.

Vicky Mulligan used her filmmaking skills to record moments throughout the day - interactions that moved her, or did short vendor and speaker interviews to capture the caring and the cause of supporting the aging population in navigating healthy alternatives to prevent substance misuse.

Then she came back to our table and spent time with individual caregivers who were struggling with grief or loss or the overwhelming burden and responsibility of their jobs. Vicky has this rare ability to connect to strangers and make them feel heard and seen. She created an intimate and safe space of caring in the middle of a noisy conference. We had a very moving time at the summit overall.

After all the major speakers and the panel had finished, they served a large buffet lunch, and by that time, we were talking with and hugging people on the line for food, like family - this conference truly brought out the goodness and hope in all of us!

Annnnd…just when we thought the day was over…they gave out casino vouchers - and we all wished each other a jackpot win!

We want to thank the Partnership for a Drug Free NJ for inviting us to this historic event! We can’t wait for the 2026 summit!