Tag Archive for: Opioids

TYSA Launches “IN OUR BACKYARD”: A Virtual Campaign Bringing Awareness to Opioid Usage In Communities of Color

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Over the past 10 years on SI and nationally, opioids (starting with prescription narcotics and moving into heroin) have become a growing concern. A large infusion of attention and consequently funding has come into the local community from the federal, state, city and local level to combat opioids. However, there are critiques of the current energy around opioids given that the heroin epidemic of the 70’s and 80’s, which primarily impacted black and low income communities, received little attention and almost no funding or compassion. Additionally, there is misinformation around the types of people that opioid use is impacting on Staten Island with the majority of focus on white, middle class, suburban residents despite rates of use and overdose among Black and Brown people and North Shore neighborhoods. 

TYSA aims to bring attention to the actual state of opioid use and overdose among communities of color, and build the capacity of local providers and clinicians to better prevent and treat opioid and other illicit drug use among communities of color on Staten Island.

On Wednesday, October 28th, at 6:00 PM, join TYSA as they officially launch a virtual “In Our Backyard” Campaign to bring awareness to the use of opioid and other drugs and its impacts on Staten Island communities of color. This Facebook Live event will feature guest speakers from CHASI, Project Hospitality, PAIGE ONE ASSIST, and the Richmond County District Attorney’s Office who will provide a history on delivering culturally relevant behavioral health services. The event will also feature a PSA created by TYSA youth consultants, and an opportunity for Q&A. This will kick-off a series of strategies that will increase awareness and build capacity of partners. Any person interested in attending must register here: [https://www.eventbrite.com/e/in-our-backyard-campaign-launch-tickets-125528409853]

For more information contact Abigail Batista at abigail@sipcw.org or 718-226-0257.

Guest speakers will include:

Ericker Onaga is the Chief Program Officer at Community Health Action of Staten Island (CHASI), a division of Sun River Health Care. In this role, Ms. Onaga oversees their complete portfolio of outreach, education, prevention and direct support services for populations most affected by health disparities – the poor and working poor, low income people with chronic illnesses, persons with criminal justice involvement, substance users, domestic violence survivors, people of color and the LGBTQ community. Ms. Onaga has a wealth of experience on issues faced by low-income individuals with HIV/AIDS, behavioral health disorders, housing instability, and food insecurity.

Raymond Jordan is a Peer Specialist who has worked for Project Hospitality for almost 2 years. He works in the Staten Island community to help with the opioid crisis and drug epidemic that has taken the lives of those that were really close to him. This work is very personal to him, as someone who has lived with the disease of addiction and who recently celebrated 3 years clean and away from drugs.

Lee Garr has worked in human services as an administrator, advocate, case manager and classroom instructor in the New York City area with individuals, adults, children and families for over 20 years. Currently, Lee serves as the Vice President of Community-Based Programs at Community Health Action of Staten Island. Previously, Lee served as Director of Programs at Amida Care, Assistant Director of Health Homes at CAMBA and was an adjunct professor at LaGuardia Community College. Lee holds a MA degree in Counseling from Manhattan College and is completing his full CASAC certification.

Debbie-Ann Paige is a public historian specializing in local African American history and a professional genealogist. She is the founder of PAIGE ONE ASSIST, a client-centered legacy research company focused on prompt, professional commitment to service. She is a newly appointed member of the New York City Council task force created to examine monuments, statues, public art and historical markers on city-owned property. She is also a senior policy analyst with the Council of State Governments working with state policymakers and key stakeholders on issues relevant to veterans, communities of color and the U.S. territories of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Upon taking office in 2016, District Attorney Michael McMahon made it a priority to transform the Richmond County DA’s Office (RCDA) into a modern prosecutor’s office focused on precision prosecution, problem-solving crime prevention, and bridge building between law enforcement and the communities it protects. McMahon has utilized his broad and deep experience in law and public service to implement and pursue the issues he promised Staten Islanders to address. He has successfully attacked the Island’s criminal justice issues: From the opioid epidemic to traditional street crime and gun violence, and from domestic violence to economic crime. McMahon continues to work with partners in law enforcement, especially our police officers and detectives, to drive down crime numbers and keep Staten Islanders safe.

SNAP Cuts Would Worsen Opioid Crisis

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As a native Staten Islander, I am deeply concerned about proposals coming from Washington D.C. that take an axe to SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, and how cuts will affect people in our borough struggling with addiction.

In Staten Island, in New York more broadly, and across the country, millions are struggling with the realities of opioid addiction and the challenges of recovery. Since the start of the epidemic, policymakers and politicians in both parties, including Congressman Donovan, have come to recognize that substance use disorders are a public health issue and that recovery requires treatment. Yet as someone who works for people who have struggled with addiction, I know that ending addiction requires more than medicine and therapy. It also means rebuilding lives and ensuring recovery isn’t derailed by something as fundamental as a struggle to put food on the table.

That’s where the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly called food stamps, comes in. As one of our nation’s most powerful and effective poverty-reduction programs, SNAP helps more than 2.9 million New Yorkers afford healthy meals and on Staten Island alone, SNAP helps over 1 in 10 residents with basic nutrition needs.. SNAP works by providing modest benefits to people with very limited means – about $1.49 per person per meal – but it is proven to help people get back on their feet faster.

Despite its effectiveness, the House Agriculture Committee has proposed cutting the program by more than $17 billion and diverting much of that money to a risky new scheme of ineffective training programs and unforgiving penalties in their version of the 2018 Farm Bill, the legislation that funds SNAP. For every meal the 2018 Farm Bill takes from the plates of those with little, it increases spending on bureaucracy. In fact, it increases administrative costs by $15 billion, according to the Congressional Budget Office. The bill also makes sweeping and harmful changes to SNAP that would increase paperwork, waste taxpayer dollars, and reverse previous efforts to improve the program and reach those in need of food assistance. All of this is done without any evidence to support such a dramatic change to the program.

For New Yorkers struggling with addiction, the Farm Bill under consideration would mean new and higher barriers to recovery. That’s because many of the harsh rules and requirements will apply to people just finishing their treatment. Under its “one strike and you’re out” provision, someone who doesn’t prove every month that they work enough hours would be kicked off SNAP for an entire year, unless they get a job that meets the requirement or requalify through an exemption such as disability ( our government does not define chronic substance abuse disorder as a disability, even though it is a deadly disease); the second time, they would lose benefits for three years. Instead of planning for their future, people recovering from opioid addiction will be forced to navigate unnecessary red tape just so they can feed their families. Unfortunately, this could result in many falling through the cracks, losing food assistance, and risking a dangerous fall back into addiction.

This week at our Spring Brunch, we heard the testimony of a Staten Islander who has struggled with addiction and has now achieved more than twenty years of recovery and serves tirelessly the recovering community of Staten Island addicts and alcoholics with all his heart.  Elwood, like so many others, used  SNAP benefits to support him in the long road to recovery. It would have been a more treacherous road without SNAP benefits.

Putting those already struggling with our national health crisis, like Elwood, in further jeopardy isn’t kind, wise, or necessary. It’s a step backward in a devastating fight that has already cost our borough too many lives.

I have been impressed by Congressman Donovan’s commitment to addressing the opioid epidemic. His efforts to increase awareness and target the causes of addiction are critical, and I hope to work with him to make them successful.  I know that these efforts must include protecting SNAP.

To do this, I urge Rep. Donovan to reject the House Agriculture Committee’s Farm Bill and any attempt to make drastic cuts and changes to SNAP. Those in recovery must have access to the resources they need rather than fear and worry about how they will feed themselves and their families. Our leaders must support policy changes to end this epidemic — not ones that make it worse, as cuts to SNAP would do.

Recovery from addiction is a long road, and we have a lot of work left to do to confront this epidemic head-on. We need dedicated leaders like Rep. Donovan to ensure we continue to place the lives of our family members struggling with addiction first and not let partisan efforts take us to a place of even more suffering.

*Rev. Terry Troia serves as President of Project Hospitality. 

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand to Host Staten Island Roundtable Discussion on Pain Medication

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SIPCW Executive Director Adrienne Abbate to Participate in Discussion about Overprescribing

STATEN ISLAND, NEW YORK (August 8, 2016) – It is a story that has afflicted countless Staten Islanders: following an injury or accident, a person is prescribed and takes pain medication for acute pain that results in opioid addiction. U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand is working to prevent situations like this across America in the future.

On Tuesday August 9, 2016, Gillibrand will host a roundtable discussion at St. John’s University’s Staten Island campus focusing on U.S. Senate bill S. 2567, the Preventing Overprescribing for Pain Act, which would require the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to issue guidelines for the safe prescribing of opioids for the treatment of acute pain. Gillibrand is the cosponsor of this bipartisan legislation, along with Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV).

Adrienne Abbate, Executive Director of the Staten Island Partnership for Community Wellness and the project director of the Tackling Youth Substance Abuse (TYSA) coalition, was invited to participate in the discussion and offer her expertise and insight into this problem.

“We know that opioid dependence often starts with a prescription from a physician,” said Abbate. “Providing prescribers with resources to effectively treat acute pain and screen for potential addiction risk factors is a prevention strategy that we have been advancing at the local level. We applaud Senator Gillibrand for advocating for updated CDC guidelines to bring relief to this national epidemic.“

The CDC’s current guidelines focus solely on chronic pain, and do not offer guidance on acute pain. Many individuals become addicted to opioids after taking prescriptions for acute pain, following common injuries, accidents or minor surgery, such as breaking a bone or getting wisdom teeth extracted.

The bill was included in the Mental Health Reform Act of 2016, which the Senate HELP Committee (Health, Education, Labor and Pensions) passed unanimously in April 2016. Nonetheless, the bill has not come for a vote on the Senate floor, despite support from a plethora of healthcare and addiction organizations, including Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America.

The roundtable will take place at 10am on the Grymes Hill campus.