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Staten Island is in the middle of a full blown drug crisis. From prescription drugs to heroin, the borough has become engulfed in the epidemic, which claims young lives every week.
On this page, you will find resources for parents, friends and substance use victims, with helpful information for getting help and how to support those who need help. In addition, you will find links to media reports on the epidemic and facts on it. The Borough President’s Office is committed to talking about – and creating solutions – for this problem. There is no room – and, frankly, no time – to waste on stigma. Families from all over the Island – rich and poor – are being tragically impacted by this crisis. In addition to the support here on this site, the BP’s Office is partnering with local substance abuse experts like the YMCA, Camelot and the Staten Island Mental Health Society to connect people who need help with the professionals who can administer that help. In addition, we are proud partners with the District Attorney’s Office, OASAS, the NYPD, Archdiocese, and the DOE to educate and prevent the epidemic from growing. Borough Hall is also part of the Tackling Youth Substance Abuse (TYSA) Coalition which uses collective impact to bring together leaders from various sectors to address issues around substance abuse. RESOURCES
A MULTI-FACETED APPROACH TO SUBSTANCE ABUSE
The Borough President’s Office has been instrumental on the mental health/substance use front by putting prevention programs in place in schools, making connections among our partners for increased access to care and so much more. BP Oddo believes in a three-pronged approach to the drug crisis: Prevention; Intervention; and Treatment & Recovery.
With the success of our Too Good For Drugs program, we have added Teen Intervene, an early intervention program to several high schools – Curtis, Port Richmond HS, Tottenville and Concord – which is part of a statewide pilot project with OASAS. We are proud to partner with the SIPCW, YMCA, UAU and OASAS on this program which is being very well received in schools. The Parents You Matter program also teaches parents and teachers to recognize the signs of drug use and how to step in. In addition, the office has been instrumental in filling the gaps in accessibility to services for the addicted. Thanks to the intervention of Dr. Mantello, Richmond University Medical Center is now an Opioid Overdose Prevention Program and can train users and their families on how to properly administer Naloxone. In addition, peer programs are now in place in local emergency rooms to match overdose victims with a peer to lead them to a treatment center instead of simply discharging them. In addition, the District Attorney, in partnership with Borough Hall and others, has recently rolled out the heroin Overdose Prevention & Education (HOPE) program, which redirects low level drug offenders to community based health services instead of the justice system. Also coming is a diversion program that redirects 911 callers who are not having a medical emergency to a crisis center, facilitating a connection to treatment. Too Good For Drugs
Piloted in 2015 in five Staten Island elementary schools, the Too Good for Drugs program paired NYPD officers - under the leadership of Chief Ed Delatorre - and teachers with fifth grade students. The students practiced peer pressure refusal skills and explored positive and negative norms through interactive games, role-plays, and skits. These extraordinary fifth graders learned how to set reachable goals and achieve them and demonstrate effective communication skills. The program had such a positive impact that at the behest of Borough President oddo, Mayor de Blasio has agreed to fund the rolling out of the program to 47 local schools. LEARN MORE: Protecting Our Kids • BP Congratulates Too Good For Drugs Graduates • Download our informational board on Too Good for Drugs Blue Angel Awards
On Tuesday, November 15, 2016, BP Oddo joined with Lois and Richard Nicotra to host an award ceremony recognizing 56 NYPD officers who have used Naloxone to reverse the effects of an opioid overdose and save the lives of numerous Staten Islanders. LEARN MORE: 56 Police Officers Receive Awards for Saving Lives • Download our informational board on the Blue Angel Awards MEDIA COVERAGE
PIX11 - HEROIN EPIDEMIC
Heroin deaths on Staten Island are staggering. The media and local substance abuse experts are calling for action to protect families as the prescription drug abuse epidemic continues to claim lives. STATEN ISLAND ADVANCE - DRUG CRISIS SERIES The drug crisis on Staten Island has claimed hundreds of lives. For many, the pain is too much to cope with. But for some brave families, sharing their stories is not only therapeutic, but will hopefully positive impact another family struggling with addiction. The Staten Island Advance has done an incredible job of profiling families who have lost young people to the heroin epidemic. Here, you will see excerpts of their stories. Please read them, go to SILIVE and get more information, remember what you read. Remember it because you may need to recall their experience in order to save a life one day. The Masinski Family mourns their daughter, shares their story Great Kills native Kathleen Masinski, 33, overdosed on a fatal cocktail of heroin and Xanax on the early morning of Oct. 17, 2014, in the upstairs bedroom where she grew up in her parents' home. She had recently returned to Staten Island from a months-long stay at a drug and alcohol rehabilitation facility, and then a halfway house, both in Florida.
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HELPLINES
District Attorney Michael E. McMahon Drug Hotline 718-876-5839 Click for more info. NYS Office of Alcoholism & Substance Abuse Services (OASAS) HOPELINE 1-877-8-HOPENY NYC LIFENET 1-800 LIFENET (1-800-543-3638) Partnership @ Drugfree Parent Line 1-855-DRUGFREE (1-855-378-4373) Narcotics Anonymous 212-929-6262 na-si.org 12-Step Program 40 meetings per week on S.I. Questions about Prescription Drug
and Alcohol Abuse? 
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