09/21/2026
IRON Recovery and Wellness Center Launches Waypoint, Substance Use Treatment for Ages 13 to 17
The program is open in Trenton and Toms River and accepts referrals directly from schools, pediatric practices, emergency departments, juvenile justice partners, and individual families
TRENTON, N.J., September 21, 2026. IRON Recovery and Wellness Center has launched IRON Waypoint, substance use treatment built for ages 13 to 17, at its Trenton and Toms River locations. The program is open and accepting referrals.
How Waypoint works
Waypoint works differently by design. The young person sets the goal. The counselor does not choose it, and it can change based on need. Family is part of the treatment, on terms the young person helps decide. In New Jersey, a person 13 to 17 can agree to substance use treatment themselves.
“The most common reason a young person does not get help is not thinking the problem is bad enough yet,” said Jessica Buzney, MA, LPC, LCADC, CCS, Executive Director of IRON Recovery and Wellness Center. “Waypoint is built for that stage, not only for a crisis.”
The launch follows several years of expansion. IRON has provided substance use disorder and behavioral health treatment in New Jersey since 1987, is CARF accredited, and operates from 132 Perry Street in Trenton and 226 Main Street in Toms River. The organization has rebuilt adolescent capacity in Ocean County, taken on three county contracts for youth substance use services, and hosted a listening session with area schools last spring that shaped the program’s hours, referral process, and approach to family involvement.
Waypoint provides intensive outpatient through general outpatient care, with integrated treatment for co-occurring mental health conditions, delivered through motivational interviewing, cognitive behavioral therapy, and family-inclusive treatment planning from intake through discharge. The Trenton program is funded by the New Jersey Department of Children and Families, Children’s System of Care, at no cost to the family, and includes transportation across Mercer and Hunterdon counties. The Toms River program accepts insurance including Medicaid, with County of Ocean funding available for young people without coverage.
“Families and educators in both counties have told us the same thing for years, that services exist but access does not,” Buzney added. “This closes that distance in person, in the communities where people already are.”
Referrals are accepted through the Children’s System of Care and PerformCare, or directly from schools, pediatric practices, emergency departments, juvenile justice partners, or individual families at (609) 394-8988.
