Nation’s first overdose prevention centers in NYC can address opioid crisis, mayor says
The nation’s first overdose prevention centers, also called supervised injection facilities, have opened in New York City.
They “are a safe and effective way to address the opioid crisis,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said while announcing the opening of the two first publicly recognized “safe places” for drug users in a Nov. 30 news release.
The centers are being managed by previously established syringe service providers in the city.
“The national overdose epidemic is a five-alarm fire in public health, and we have to tackle this crisis concurrently with our COVID fight,” Dr. Dave A. Chokshi, the city’s health commissioner, said in a statement.
More than 90,000 people across the nation died of a drug overdose in 2020, the highest number of overdose deaths in U.S. history, the release pointed out, citing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Out of those deaths, over 2,000 people died from an overdose in New York City, with the highest rates occurring in the Bronx.
“Giving people a safe, supportive space will save lives and bring people in from the streets, improving life for everyone involved,” Chokshi said.
These overdose prevention centers can reduce public drug use and litter from discarded syringes, according to the release.
Cities such as Philadelphia, San Francisco and Seattle have made moves toward establishing similar sites but have faced legal barriers and other challenges preventing the cities from doing so, The New York Times and NPR reported.
Every four hours, a person in New York City dies from a drug overdose, according to 2021 data from the city’s health department.
In 2020, opioids were to blame for 85% of the more than 2,000 overdose deaths in the city, the release said.
The most common substance responsible for those deaths was fentanyl, accounting for 77% of the deaths, for the fourth year in a row as of 2020.
Other substances involved in overdoses are heroin, cocaine, amphetamines and alcohol.
“I lost a sister to heroin in the 1970s who might still be with us if we’d had resources like these back then,” state Sen. Robert Jackson said in a statement, adding that the new overdose prevention centers “will reduce syringe litter, move people toward treatment for their substance use, and save lives.”
Overdose prevention facilities in New York City would save up to 130 lives a year, according to a feasibility study by the city’s health department.
The two newly established centers are an extension of harm reduction services already in place in the city, the release said. Those who use drugs can receive medical care there and “be connected to treatment and social services.”
They are located in Manhattan within the East Harlem and Washington Heights neighborhoods, The New York Times reported.
Clean needles will be given to users with drugs of their own by trained staff who can give naloxone to stop an overdose if needed, according to the newspaper.
The centers are led by New York Harm Reduction Educators and the Washington Heights Corner Project, two nonprofits forming together as an organization called OnPoint NYC, the Gothamist reported.
Overdose prevention facilities are proven to prevent overdose deaths, the release noted, pointing to research by the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction.
These sites that safely allow the use of illicit drugs have operated in Europe for the last three decades, the research said.
There are 31 facilities in the Netherlands, 24 in Germany, 13 in Spain and 12 in Switzerland, among others.
No overdose deaths have occurred in any of these facilities, the release said, which were called “a compassionate and proven way to help people” by Richard Aborn, the president of the Citizens Crime Commission of New York City.
“We know that law enforcement solutions alone will never fully address the issue of drug addiction in our communities,” Aborn said in a statement.
New York City’s police department expressed apparent support when asked about overdose prevention centers.
“The NYPD is aware of the program and has no plans to target people connected to authorized sites that are meant to reduce overdoses of dangerous drugs,” an NYPD spokesperson told the Gothamist. “Our enforcement efforts remain targeted to those who illegally sell and distribute the illegal drugs that have led to record numbers of overdose deaths in our streets.”
A spokesperson for the mayor’s office declined a request for further comment from McClatchy News.
This story was originally published November 30, 2021 at 6:34 PM with the headline "Nation’s first overdose prevention centers in NYC can address opioid crisis, mayor says."
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