Amsterdam News reports on the news that Black and Brown opioid overdose deaths have decreased citywide in 2024 – for the first time in 6 years, according to recent health department data. Advocates point to harm reduction measures as a reason for this shift.
As Amsterdam News writes:
Overdose prevention sites, best known for where people can use drugs safely and under supervision, served more than 8,000 participants with harm reduction resources through the city’s two uptown locations operated by service provider OnPoint NYC this past fiscal year… “You’ve heard me in the past not celebrate dips in overdose [deaths]…[it was] painful for many years seeing our people — my people — not be a part of that success,” said OnPoint NYC executive director Sam Rivera. “What I think has happened specifically to us is an entire system: I love that people talk about the OPC, we have an amazing drop-in center. We have a low-threshold medical program that’s almost never talked about.”
