On Monday, July 24, BP Oddo joined with DA Mike McMahon to announce the launch of SIHOPE.org. The website contains various resources related to the opioid epidemic, ranging from information on addiction treatment services to ways to report drug activity in your neighborhood. As part of the public awareness campaign, lawn signs will encourage Staten Islanders to visit the site.
 
“Getting the word out about all of the efforts undertaken on the opioid epidemic is really important,” noted BP Oddo. “The District Attorney’s new website is making it a little easier with one central location for folks to access information.”
 
"It's a one-stop shop for those battling addiction, those with a loved one who is struggling, or those who simply want to get involved in helping end this horrible crisis," said District Attorney Michael McMahon.
 
To check out the website, click here.

​On Friday, June 2nd, BP Oddo joined with members of the NYPD to congratulate students who participated in this year’s Too Good For Drugs program at New Dorp High School. The curriculum is co-taught in the classroom by an NYPD police officer and a school teacher. Too Good For Drugs teaches children how to handle peer pressure, deal with outside influences and make healthy decisions through interactive games and skits.
 
The program, which is in its third year, took place in every 5th grade class on Staten Island. The program was also piloted for 7th graders in four middle schools and for freshman at New Dorp High School.
 
At the ceremony, BP Oddo and members of the NYPD spoke about the dangers of addiction and encouraged students to act as leaders in and out of the classroom. At the end of the ceremony, students took a pledge to abstain from tobacco, alcohol and drugs.
 
BP Oddo, who noted that he wants to see the program expand even further, told the graduates, “Through this program, you are going to be part of the solution. We need you. We can’t win this battle without you. We need your help in the pushback in the fight against addiction.”

“The idea here was not just to give you coping tools, but to mold yourself into that leadership role,” said Assistant Chief Edward Delatorre, Borough Commander of NYPD.
 
About 7,900 students participated in the program this year.

On Friday, May 12th, BP Oddo joined with the Staten Island Performing Provider System (SI PPS) to launch the Drug Prevention Portal, a new website that tracks data in the battle against the opioid epidemic. The website includes information on Naloxone saves, overdose deaths, Emergency Department visits and hospital admissions. In addition, it provides resources for the families of those suffering from addiction, including contact information for treatment providers and information on where to get Naloxone kits.
 
The idea for the Drug Prevention Portal came from the BP’s Policy team, who found a similar dashboard that compiles data in Rhode Island. Working in conjunction with the PPS, they adapted it for Staten Island’s specific needs.
 
“Late in 2016 my Policy staff presented to me exciting information about the Rhode Island Dashboard that has been such a useful tool in that State as they battle their own opioid epidemic,” said BP Oddo. “We agreed that we simply have to bring something similar to Staten Island. We immediately asked our partners at the SI PPS, who have the experience, access to data, and technical capability to undertake such a project, to consider building our own local dashboard. It is exciting to see it released to the public. Let me be clear, this is not data collection for the sake of data collection; rather this dashboard will be a real time resource for those who need assistance, as well as policymakers as we continue to look for new ways to fight this deadly epidemic.”
 
“By creating this web service for our partners, providers and the community, we have been able to provide an invaluable resource for improving the health and wellness of its users. The site centers on tackling the drug epidemic by bringing together useful data sources, key research and other tools for users to access in an easy to use and convenient online platform. We are very excited to hear about the user experience of the site from our various partners, and hope to continuously improve and build upon this new addition to our arsenal in the fight against substance abuse,” said Celina Ramsey, Director of Health Literacy, Diversity & Outreach at SI PPS.
 
Check out the portal here: www.sidrugprevention.org 

​On Wednesday, February 15th, BP Oddo joined with District Attorney McMahon, NYPD Assistant Chief Delatorre and health professionals to announce the Heroin Overdose Prevention and Education (HOPE) initiative, which redirects low-level drug offenders to community-based health and treatment services instead of jail and prosecution. The goal of HOPE is to reduce drug overdoses and improve public safety by getting those suffering from addiction onto the path to recovery. 
 
The program allows eligible offenders to meet with peer coaches to provide them with a naloxone kit and talk to them about the program. The peer coach will also encourage the individual to visit a community based Resource and Recovery Center, of which there are two on Staten Island – one that runs 24 hours on the North Shore by Community Health Action of Staten Island, and another that operates on the South Shore by Christopher’s Reason and the Resource Training Center. If the individual decides to pursue treatment, the case will not be prosecuted.
 
“We have to think outside the box on this issue,” said BP Oddo. “We’ve begun to do that with our Too Good for Drugs and HOPE initiatives. We need to work together with law enforcement, health professionals and community-based organizations to help educate the next generation about the dangers of opioids and get those in need into treatment. This initiative is just one part of our multi-faceted approach to dealing with the opioid epidemic.”
 
“This effort recognizes that substance abuse illness is both a public health and a public safety crisis that is endangering our community and demands urgent collective action. Too often in our criminal justice system, individuals suffering from substance abuse disorder find that treatment or services are too far out of their reach or offered too late in the process to have meaning in their lives. Putting this effort in place has been an extraordinary example of the power that government can harness and mobilize across multiple disciplines to tackle a crisis effectively,” said District Attorney Michel McMahon.
 
In 2015, Staten Island had the highest rate of overdose death of any of the five boroughs and one of the highest rates in all of New York State. Last year, the NYPD reported more than 90 suspected overdose deaths on Staten Island and an additional 74 overdose-reversals with the drug Naloxone made by the NYPD.

​“Thank you; we need more help,” is the message of a short letter drafted by Borough President James S. Oddo and signed by every other elected official on Staten Island to Governor Cuomo and Mayor de Blasio.
 
The letter, dated January 10, 2017 and addressed to Governor Cuomo and Mayor de Blasio reads in total as follows:
 
“We sincerely thank you for all you have done to help us fight the opioid epidemic plaguing Staten Island.
 
“We desperately need more help.
 
“We are hopeful we can all get in the same room in the near future to figure out how we can do even more.”
 
Ironically, within hours of sending the letter, the Governor sent out a press release announcing a slew of new proposals in his State of the State to combat this epidemic state wide.
 
“I certainly welcome the Governor’s new proposals, and look forward to learning more about them,” said Borough President Oddo. “In fact, they are an indication of how important it is to get in the same room to discuss all our efforts and discuss what more can be done. At our December 2, 2016 meeting I hosted at Borough Hall, my colleagues and I agreed that the crisis is so pervasive and serious that we must be working with the highest reaches of the state and city government to solve it. This letter appealing to the Governor and Mayor for their direct engagement with us asks just for that. Does the request reflect a bit of chutzpah on our part? Perhaps. But the cause is that important and the consequences of inaction too serious.” 
 
Besides Borough President Oddo, the bipartisan group of elected officials signing onto the letter was: District Attorney Michael McMahon, Congressman Dan Donovan, State Senators Andrew Lanza and Diane Savino, Assembly Members Michael Cusick, Matthew Titone, Nicole Malliotakis, and Ron Castorina, and Council Members Steven Matteo, Joe Borelli, and Debi Rose.  

On a recent warm evening at the College of Staten Island, Borough President Oddo and the Staten Island Performing Provider System (PPS) hosted a comprehensive session for physicians, nurses and other healthcare professionals, focused on creating solutions to the substance abuse epidemic on the Island.

The session – presented to a pretty full theater - was well received and focused on not only identifying the problem in patients, but reducing stigma by integrating support and treatment into primary care offices. The presenting physicians – both with the city’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) – also gave examples of “unlikely” patients who were living with addiction, including a grandma who said no one would sell her heroin because no one would believe she used it. The reality is, there is no “typical addict.”

DOHMH's Drs. Jessica Kattan and Hillary Kunins both gave informative presentations on treating addiction with medication (including prescribing information), which has been shown to be more successful than treatment without medication, they said.
​
Dr. Salvatore Volpe, Director of the Staten Island PPS and Dr. Ginny Mantello, Health and Wellness Director for the BP, hosted a Q&A session after the presentations.  ​