As a rookie patrolman in Boonton Township, James M. Gannon joined an awareness-raising theater group to reduce stigma around mental illness and addiction. He’d learned at a young age to care about people less fortunate than himself.
More than three decades later, campaigning door to door in his 2016 run for Morris County sheriff, Gannon said he continually heard the same three concerns from residents: drug addiction, mental health and homelessness. “It was overwhelming the amount of people who had been impacted,” he recalled.
On Day 100 of Gannon’s first term in 2017, the Morris County Sheriff’s Office launched Hope One, a mobile outreach unit that brings essential mental health and addiction services to the community. In its eighth year, Hope One has connected 1,600 people with treatment programs and distributed 11,000 naloxone kits that reverse opioid overdoses, Gannon said. Hope One is staffed by a plainclothes officer, a mental health clinician and a peer recovery specialist. It has been so successful that 10 other counties have replicated it.
“People with mental illness and addiction have been marginalized. We want to help them recover and be productive members of society,” Gannon said. “We want to give families the support they need.”
Leading with Hope
NewBridge Services has named Gannon honoree of its 2025 Legacy of Hope Gala, which will be held May 8 at The Legacy Castle in Pompton Plains. “Sheriff Gannon’s commitment to the wellbeing of the community is completely in sync with all NewBridge stands for,” NewBridge CEO Michelle Borden said. “His actions support mental health, addiction recovery, and the overall health of Morris County residents,” Borden said.
“It’s so nice to be a part of this,” said Gannon, adding: “The people who really deserve the credit are the people on the ground who do the hard work.”
The sheriff’s office launched other programs to help people to promote wellness. For example, a reentry service for jail inmates helps them obtain a high school diploma, and secure housing, a job, and any needed treatment.
The Hope One team, operating out of a repurposed SWAT vehicle, can be found at shopping center parking lots, community food banks and public gatherings. NewBridge has also hosted Hope One at some of its offices, Borden noted.
A Lifetime of Service
Gannon spent the bulk of his public law enforcement career with the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office, rising to deputy chief of investigations. He investigated more than 120 homicides, including the 2001 kidnapping and murder of a 10-year-old Morristown boy and the double-slaying at a Roxbury gaming store in 2002. He holds top-level national security clearance, and managed multiple investigations as a member of the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force.
Retiring in 2007, Gannon spent the next seven years in the corporate sector, serving as global head of security risk at the pharmaceutical giant, Novartis.
Gannon is vice chairman of Greystone Park State Psychiatric Hospital’s trustee board, a trustee of the Patriots’ Path Council of Scouting America, and he belongs to many professional associations. The grandfather of two and longtime resident of Boonton is also a drum major in the Police Pipes & Drums of Morris County.
