Addiction Rehabs to City + State: Why Haven't You Consulted Us Around Distribution Of Opioid Settlement Funds?

NEW YORK, NY (09/01/2022) (readMedia)-- Today, seven executives at addiction treatment facilities across New York City and State sent a letter to city and state government officials expressing their disappointment by the apparent lack of consultation with addiction treatment professionals as opioid settlement funds are being distributed. The letter reads:

"We represent a consortium of Substance Use Disorder (SUD) treatment providers who offer services in prevention, recovery, and harm reduction in New York City and New York State. We are on the frontlines of the opioid epidemic, providing New Yorkers with high-quality and effective care to help them get and stay sober. As a community, we are disheartened and disappointed by the apparent lack of consultation with us, experienced community-based providers, around the distribution of opioid settlement funds."

The treatment providers also expressed concern that the funds will only supplant existing addiction treatment funding at city hospitals, when additional funding is desperately needed and hospitals are only the first stop in many people's recovery from addiction.

Read the full text of the letter attached and below.

"It's been an especially challenging few years for those of us in the Recovery community. On top of the pandemic, which made getting and staying sober extremely challenging, we've seen a rise in Fentanyl use. We are the group with the most on-the-ground experience with these challenges, and nobody knows what it takes to help people get and stay sober more than we do. We should be consulted, and beyond that, rehabilitation programs need this funding to do the crucial work we do and stop the continuing steep rise of overdose deaths. These settlement funds are too important to be spent unwisely." said Ann-Marie Foster, president and CEO of Phoenix Houses of NY/LI who helped to coordinate the letter.

After a nearly 30% rise in drug overdose deaths between 2019 and 2020, 108,000 Americans lost their lives to drug overdoses in 2021. This holds true in New York City, with overdose deaths more common than ever - 30.5 per 100,000 NYC residents losing their lives to overdoses in 2020 compared with 21.9 in 2019. This steep rise is attributed to COVID, combined with the rising prevalence of fentanyl. The addiction crisis has become one of the most pressing issues of our time.

Letter

Dear Governor Hochul, Attorney General James, Mayor Adams, and Commissioner Vasan,

We represent a consortium of Substance Use Disorder (SUD) treatment providers who offer services in prevention, recovery, and harm reduction in New York City and New York State. We are on the frontlines of the opioid epidemic, providing New Yorkers with high-quality and effective care to help them get and stay sober. As a community, we are disheartened and disappointed by the apparent lack of consultation with us, experienced community-based providers, around the distribution of opioid settlement funds.

When the state won these opioid settlement funds, it offered a small and much-needed glimmer of hope after the most challenging period in history for SUD treatment. Many in our community lost state funding at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic while simultaneously witnessing a terrifying steep rise in alcohol and substance misuse and overdose deaths, compounded by the rising prevalence of deadly fentanyl.

?When opioid settlement funds were secured, it presented an opportunity for more government investment and desperately needed assistance for our organizations to address this growing crisis in our state. We are deeply concerned that we have not yet been consulted on the use of these crucial funds, nor does it now seem likely that we will receive this support for our vital work on the frontlines.

The opioid epidemic in New York has not yet been met with the fervor and support needed to overcome it. We feel it would be a mistake for these newly secured funds to supplant existing committed dollars that could then be used elsewhere. We have heard that in NYC, the funding may be put toward the city hospital system. If that's true, we hope funds are also distributed to other treatment facilities. Staten Island, for example, does not have a city hospital, but it does have rising rates of SUD.

Further, many city hospital programs are only the first, short step in an individual's Recovery journey - community-based SUD treatment centers are the ones that give people the tools to stay sober over the long-term. While hospitals are critical in dealing with overdoses and detoxification, we are the ones equipped to deal with rehabilitation. Without rehab, substance users will continue to be a burden on the hospital system and require other expensive social services. We must be included in this funding process.

Our specialized expertise gives us crucial insight into the relevant ways these dollars could be spent most effectively. The opioid crisis demands innovation, creativity, and dedication, all of which our collective experience can provide. We are relevant stakeholders, and our expertise will help New York State finally reverse the rising numbers of overdose deaths, in addition to the economic, education, and family challenges caused by the opioid epidemic.

We request a meeting with each of you to discuss and determine recommendations on how these funds should be distributed in our communities. We are here, and we are ready to advise.

Sincerely,

Ann-Marie Foster

President and CEO

Phoenix Houses of NY/LI

??Ingrid Floyd

Executive Director

Iris House

Anne Constantino

President and CEO

Horizon Health/ Horizon Village

Luke J. Nasta

CEO

Camelot of Staten Island, Inc

Seep Varma

CEO

New York Therapeutic Communities, Inc

Robert Anderson, LCSW-R, Master CASAC G, CRPA, CARC

Executive Director, Educational Alliance/Center for Recovery and Wellness

John Tavolacci

Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer

Odyssey House Inc.

About Phoenix House

Since 1967, Phoenix Houses of New York has helped thousands of people overcome substance and alcohol use in order to lead healthy, productive, and rewarding lives. Phoenix Houses of New York offers short-term and long-term residential, intensive outpatient, and general outpatient treatment. Phoenix House also offers treatment for co-occurring mental health disorders, medical, psychiatric, and dental services, and impaired driver programs. These services are designed to meet the individual needs of adults at various stages of recovery, including military personnel, and veterans. In addition, Phoenix House provides educational and supportive services to family members, friends, significant others, and the community.