OnPoint NYC, Operator of the Nation’s First Supervised Consumption Centers, Announces That It Has Intervened In Over 1,000 Overdoses
The Critical Milestone is Reached as Municipalities and States Across the Country Begin to Consider Authorizing Safe Consumption Programs to Help Curb the OD Crisis; “Record Numbers of People are Dying. We’ve Long Past the Point of Debating the Utility of OPCs”
New York – OnPoint NYC, the operator of the nation’s first supervised consumption centers, announces that it has averted 1,008 drug overdoses since launching its authorized OPC program on November 30, 2021. The nonprofit, which runs two harm reduction programs in northern Manhattan, provides life-saving services as the country seeks to cope with record levels of drug overdose fatalities.
As of July 2023, OnPoint NYC’s supervised consumption centers have been utilized 83,519 times by 3,719 registered participants. Its OPC, community cleanup and drop off programs have collected, removed and safely discarded over two million units of drug paraphernalia much of which would have remained in NYC streets, parks and other public spaces.
With the support and partnership of Mayor Adams, the NYC and NY State Departments of Health, New York Police Department, and NY State Office of Addiction Services and Supports, OnPoint NYCis playing an essential role in New York’s response to a devastating health crisis. As the national overdose epidemic continues to escalate, more and more municipalities and states have now begun to actively work towards authorizing their own OPC programs.
Sam Rivera, OnPoint NYC’s Executive Director, encouraged other government and community leaders outside of New York City to embrace the lifesaving medical intervention, “No one has to die of a drug overdose. Harm reduction isn’t a radical and untested experiment. The data and evidence are clear. There are thousands of beautiful souls that are still with us today because of the intervention of our OPC staff. The survival of someone struggling with addiction shouldn’t depend on your zip code. Someone in the Bronx, San Francisco or Seattle has just as much of a right to live and receive compassion as our participants do in Manhattan. OPCs save livesand improve the health of communities. It’s that simple.”
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 106,000 people in the U.S. died from drug-involved overdose in 2021, including illicit drugs and prescription opioids.
About OnPoint NYC
In addition to supervised consumption centers in East Harlem and Washington Heights, OnPoint NYC provides wraparound services to meet its underserved participant’s comprehensive set of needs including, medical and mental health care, onsite access to Buprenorphine and other addiction treatment options, Hepatitis C and HIV testing and treatment, holistic services, hygiene and respite, food, clothing, and other critical supports.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 9, 2023
Contact: Reggie Johnson; [email protected]
