(Long Island, NY) Suffolk County Legislature Presiding Officer DuWayne Gregory joined local health and police officials at a news conference today calling for $1.1 billion in emergency federal funding that to battle the surging heroin crisis on Long Island and across the nation.
The Obama administration is calling for $1.1 billion over the next two years for the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act to combat the growing health crisis. Funding would support local agencies that treat and help prevent drug addiction.
Suffolk County Legislature Presiding Officer DuWayne Gregory, center, calls on Congress to approve emergency funding that would help bolster efforts to end the heroin crisis. He is flanked by Warren Zysman, Chief Executive for ACI Rehab, left; and Suffolk County Police Chief of Detectives Gerard Gigante, right. Photo Credit: Suffolk County.
“Heroin and prescription drug abuse on Long Island and throughout the U.S. is running rampant and is at epic proportions,” said Presiding Officer Gregory. “According to the Centers for Disease Control, the rate of heroin-related overdose deaths has nearly quadrupled, and the number of heroin deaths in Suffolk County has nearly tripled since 2010. We need emergency funding from Congress to battle this scourge.”
In calling on Congress to immediately pass an emergency funding bill, which would bolster Long Island’s efforts to end the crisis, the Presiding Officer today laid out a four-pronged approach to addressing the epidemic: expanding treatment programs, prevention through education, taking drugs off the streets through drop-in programs, and supporting pointed law enforcement strategies.
Suffolk Police Chief of Detectives Gerard Gigante said the Suffolk County Police Department responds to 4-5 calls each day reporting overdoses. In 2016 alone, he said, Suffolk has already lost 68 lives to drug overdoses, about half of which are estimated to be from opiate use. The police department is utilizing a tracking and mapping strategy to target problem areas and is working with the newly-formed Long Island Heroin Task Force.
“The federal government must step in and help rescue the lives of those who are addicted to heroin and other substances,” said Warren Zysman, Chief Executive for ACI, one of the largest providers of substance abuse and addiction programs in the U.S. “There is a dire need for emergency funding for programs that can make a difference and stem the tide of this raging plague in Long Island and across the nation.”
In the United States, drug overdoses have exceeded car crashes as the number one cause of death. Two Americans die of drug overdoses every hour, and every day, 2,500 youths between the ages of 12 and 17 abuse prescription drugs for the first time.
Additionally, expanding access to the overdose-reversal drug Narcan has proven to be a useful tool. The Suffolk County Department of Health is promoting several upcoming Narcan training classes, at which participants will learn how to recognize an opioid overdose, administer intranasal Narcan and take additional steps until EMS arrives. Participants will receive a certificate of completion and an emergency resuscitation kit that includes nasal Narcan.
Upcoming classes include:
- Hauppauge: Tuesday, April 5, 2016, 3-4:30 p.m.
Suffolk County Dept. of Health Services, Office of Education
725 Veterans Highway, Bldg. C-928, Hauppauge
RSVP To Wanda Ortiz: wanda.ortiz@suffolkcountyny.gov - Sayville: Thursday, April 7, 2016, 6-7 p.m.
Community Ambulance Company of Sayville Headquarters
420 Lakeland Ave., Sayville
RSVP through http://croci.nysenate.gov or call 631-360-3356 - Port Jefferson: Thursday, April 14, 2016, 10 a.m.
Hope House Ministries Human Services Center
1313 Main St., Port Jefferson
Register at: https://pjvac.enrollware.com/enroll?id=1090773 or call 631-473-0553
