Fatal overdoses are at an all-time high, counting more than 100,000 deaths in 2020 alone, according to the National Center for Health Statistics, with deaths nearly doubling over the last several years.
In an effort to curb the rising overdose deaths, New York City has now opened 2 overdose prevention centers (OPCs) as an evidence-based way to decrease mortality and fatal overdoses. New York City is now home to the first two overdose prevention centers in the United States- which are co-located in two existing syringe exchange service programs providing wrap around services for their clients. They will be located at New York Harm Reduction Educators and Corner Project, located in East Harlem and Washington Heights, respectively. OPCs are evidence based and critical tools to combat the opioid crisis.
See below for more details of the new OPCs:
NYC.gov – Mayor de Blasio’s Nation First Overdose Prevention Center in NYC
NY Times – Supervised Injection Sites
See here for ASAM Public Policy Statement in support of OPCs.
Data supporting OPCs – including a summary of data compiled by NIDA and a report specific to the potential impact of OPCs in NYC.
-NYSAM
Stay informed and join the conversation on Twitter.