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The Hidden Impacts of Overdose: Four More Reasons We Must Stop the Epidemic
The recent overdose epidemic has brought the issue of substance use front and center as a mainstream problem. That means now is the time to harness our collective efforts to devise mainstream solutions. As we celebrate International Overdose Awareness Day, it’s essential that we recognize the...
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360 is More Than Just an Address, It’s a Model of Care for The Mental Health Association of Westchester
In 2022, preliminary data released by the CDC indicated that more than 100,000 people had died from drug overdoses (CDC). This total marks a new annual record in nationwide drug overdose deaths and is twice the size of 2015’s record, underscoring the alarming escalation of this crisis (NPR, Times...
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The Long History and Bright Future of Harm Reduction in New York State
For the past year, the New York State Office of Addiction Services and Supports (OASAS) has implemented a new division among its pillars of prevention, treatment, and recovery services. The newly formed Division of Harm Reduction seeks to bring both the harm reduction philosophy and its practical...
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The Opioid Epidemic: Helping Communities in Crisis
The opioid epidemic has impacted our families, friends, and communities. The New York State Office of Addiction Services and Supports (OASAS) estimates that 1 in 13 New York State residents suffer from a substance abuse disorder.1 Among NYS residents, the number of overdose deaths involving any...
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Harm Reduction: A Bridge Back to Life
Harm reduction is a decades-long, well-established, effective tool in reducing illnesses, deaths, and other negative consequences of problematic substance use (Jones et al., 2022). This approach has never been more important as in the current overdose crisis (Perera et al., 2022). Harm reduction...
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Caring for Yourself: Learning to Live with a Substance Use Disorder
Substance use and misuse have reached epidemic proportions across the United States. In a 2020 survey, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) estimated that more than 40 million individuals across the country over the age of 12 have a substance use disorder, with...
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The NYSPA Report: Overdose Prevention Centers Keep Our People Alive
People with opioid use disorder (OUD) have a high prevalence of a serious mental illness (SMI). Nearly 27% of people with an OUD had a co-occurring SMI (Jones and McCance-Katz 2019), which complicates care when access to dual diagnosis treatment is limited. Overdose deaths have steadily increased...
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Reducing Stigma Through Harm Reduction Interventions
Services for the UnderServed (S:US) is one the largest community-based health and human services organizations in New York State that works intentionally daily to right societal imbalances by providing comprehensive and culturally responsive services. The pandemic has deepened many of the...
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Stigma: How Vocabulary and Language Can Make a Difference
Compassionate language can improve care and change the stigma associated with substance use disorder. The terms or phrases healthcare providers use to discuss substance use are often imbued with negative connotations that create bias. Research shows harm reduction-based vocabulary and education can...
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NIH Launches Harm Reduction Research Network to Prevent Overdose Fatalities
To address the overdose crisis in the United States, the National Institutes of Health has established a research network that will test harm reduction strategies in different community settings to inform efforts to help save lives. The harm reduction research network’s efforts build on existing...
