We are in the midst of a drug overdose epidemic that is killing a New Yorker every two hours. Imagine if a program existed that could prevent hundreds of these deaths and save New York City $7 million each year, but policymakers were unwilling to fund or authorize it across the state.

The mystery program we describe exists. In fact, 120 such programs are in operation globally. Overdose Prevention Centers (OPCs) not only prevent overdose deaths but also focus on reducing the harms associated with drug use and grant people who use drugs respect, dignity and the opportunity to live long, healthy lives.

A number of studies support the benefits of OPCs, and our own research in New York City highlights the benefits of such sites. This International Overdose Awareness Day, we are calling to honor the lives lost to fatal overdose by expanding the OPC program throughout New York City and across New York State to prevent future deaths.

OPCs provide a sanctioned, safe space where people who use drugs can consume pre-obtained, illicit drugs in a monitored setting. These centers offer participants sterile syringes and tools to test their supply for fentanyl — the highly potent drug responsible for the steep spike in overdose deaths in recent years. Staffed by professionals who are trained to intervene in the event of an overdose, OPCs also offer linkage to services, such as supportive housing, mental health counseling and addiction treatment.

A sign on the wall reads "This site save lives" in Spanish and English at an overdose prevention center at OnPoint NYC in New York, N.Y., Friday, Feb. 18, 2022. (Seth Wenig/AP)

The research underscores OPCs as effective interventions that prevent overdose deaths, establish trust with and engage high-risk individuals into health-care settings, reduce public drug use and syringe litter, and lower infectious disease transmission.

OPCs implement a harm reduction model, which meets people where they are to prevent the negative consequences of drug use with services like sterile syringes, naloxone and HIV testing without alienating them by requiring abstinence. Advocates of OnPoint NYC boldly set out to tackle the overdose epidemic in Upper Manhattan by implementing the nation’s first Overdose Prevention Centers within their established harm reduction program in November 2021.

After operating the sites for nine months, the organization has impressive numbers to back their work. In the first two months of operation, staff intervened 125 times to prevent overdose death and by month nine, successfully reversed 415 overdoses. Zero deaths have been reported along with very limited need for emergency department visits, saving lives and reducing healthcare costs. This impact only stands to be magnified with the help of government funds to establish OPCs across New York State.

While these facilities have proven feasible and effective public health interventions, there is an urgent need to fund more OPCs across New York. For example, the Bronx has consistently faced the highest burden of overdose deaths and Buffalo’s overdose rate rose by 57% in 2020 alone, yet residents from neither area have access to an OPC.

A study we conducted at the New York Academy of Medicine, in collaboration with the city’s Health Department, the Peer Network of New York, and other partners, assessed the feasibility of OPCs in New York City by engaging community members across the city. One key finding indicated that people who use drugs were generally willing to travel up to 30 minutes to utilize one, demonstrating that the impact of OPCs only extends as far as the communities for whom they are within reach.

Most stakeholders thought OPCs should ideally operate for 24 hours, given work schedules of participants and the dire nature of withdrawal symptoms. City leadership, including Mayor Adams, has shown support for expanding hours of operation. Formal authorization would allow necessary state and city funds, including opioid settlement dollars, to make OPCs more accessible around the clock.

Although some community residents expressed concerns that OPCs would attract drug use to their neighborhoods, research has shown consistently that the presence of OPCs does not increase drug use in surrounding areas. Further, we found strong support for integrating these centers into well-established harm reduction programs, which are already serving people who use drugs with services, such as syringe exchange in neighborhoods with high drug use and overdose rates, where OPCs would be most impactful.

In 2021, advocates called for a lifesaving Overdose Prevention Package, and Gov. Hochul answered by signing it into law.

Despite this progress, in 2022, the work to end the overdose crisis is far from over. New York can continue leading the nation in evidence-based, compassionate drug policy by expanding the OPC model across New York State. Overdose Prevention Centers have been demonstrated to save lives and can be a vital public health service. It’s time for them to be accessible to more New Yorkers.

Khawly is a policy intern and Calvo is a program officer at the New York Academy of Medicine.

Copyright © 2022, New York Daily News

Copyright © 2022, New York Daily News