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Game-Changers: Expanding Access to Substance Use Disorder Treatment in 2024
Substance use disorders (SUD) and overdose deaths remain a serious public health concern: prevalence rates, particularly opioids and fentanyl, and the provisional data on drug overdose deaths continue to climb. These statistics underscore the importance of prevention and access to treatment for...
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Safe, Stable Housing and Employment Are Key Social Determinants of Health, and Critical for Recovery!
Safe and stable housing, together with appropriate employment, are important determinants of mental and physical health. For people who are living with mental illness, housing and employment can play a critical role in their journeys towards recovery. Governor Hochul has long recognized the...
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Consumer Perspectives: The Synergy of Housing and Employment Services in Mental Healthcare
This article is part of a quarterly series giving voice to the perspectives of individuals with lived experiences as they share their opinions on a particular topic. The authors are served by Services for the UnderServed (S:US), a New York City-based nonprofit that is committed to giving every New...
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Assisting Individuals with Employment at WJCS Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics
Westchester Jewish Community Services (WJCS) operates four Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics (CCBHC), with funding provided by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) in Westchester County, NY. When individuals first enter our clinic, they are greeted by a...
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Safe at Last: Safe Options Support (SOS) Offers Options to Support the Homeless
Supporting the homeless population in NYC is a complex issue rooted in factors like the lack of affordable housing, mental illness, substance use, unemployment, and poor health conditions. Following the deinstitutionalization of the mentally ill, New York City (NYC) has grappled with a significant...
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Recovery: An Ongoing Process, Not a Destination
At its core, the idea of “Recovery” expresses an amalgam of aspiration and hope. From practice, I learned that each patient has highly individual ideas of recovery. Examples: A man was pleased when a change from a traditional antipsychotic to clozapine, a more potent medication, meant a...
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Harm Reduction in Treatment: A Simplified Overview
In the past, harm reduction was mainly associated with distributing clean needles to prevent the spread of infectious diseases. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (2022), there were over 100,000 deaths related to drug overdoses in 2022. Treatment has evolved to...
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Opioid Settlement Funds an Opportunity to Strengthen Services
The tragic loss of life and the impact of addiction on families and communities has been escalating in New York State annually almost every year for well over a decade. New York State’s response has been inadequate and lives have been lost as a consequence. Because of a strong federal...
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An Epidemic Rages On: “Treatment” Is Not Enough
Unprecedented rates of substance abuse and mental illness have afflicted nearly every segment of our population in recent years. This intractable public health crisis has led healthcare professionals, policymakers, and other stakeholders to reexamine longstanding assumptions concerning the...
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Inclusivity in Recovery: How Federation Adapts Addiction Services to Diverse Communities
In the vital world of recovery services, there are many details to an individual’s history and health that should be considered in order to provide a comprehensive care plan. One detail in particular isn’t typically prioritized when it comes to environmental impact of an individual’s...
