New York is trying to improve services that can help people with drug and alcohol problems. The Office of Addiction Services and Supports (OASAS) got feedback from around the state to learn about local issues around substance abuse.
OASAS Commissioner Doctor Chinazo Cunningham said she heard from local communities that they wanted an increased focus on what the younger generation needs, such as “improving access to some of the basic needs for recovery. A lot of those are social needs like housing, transportation, that kind of thing.”
OASAS has rolled out young adult recovery residences to help with these special challenges.
One bright spot in substance abuse that was discovered is that fewer people are dying of drug overdoses. OASAS finds overdose deaths have decreased by 44%. Cunningham still feels like they are far behind in addressing the problem. “We’re doing a lot of work. But the reality is we’re not going to fix this overnight.”
One way, she noted, to impact overdose deaths is to provide more access to more Medication-Assisted Treatment.
“When we look at the numbers statewide, there’s a 50% increase in the number of people in Upstate New York, in rural areas, who now have access to methadone treatment where they did not have access before, said Cunningham.
Now there are over 130 methadone treatment locations in New York. Medication-Assisted Treatment is also available in all jails and prisons in the state. “We are absolutely leading the country in this work, and this population is really at extraordinarily high risk of overdose,” Cunningham said.
She added that substance treatment infrastructure was not invested in for decades, creating a need to improve both pay for those in the field and pathways for drug treatment specialists to enter it.
