NORWICH – The Chenango County Department of Health is taking action against the heroin epidemic and is now getting help in the fight through the form of a state grant.
The department was notified in late 2013 that it would receive $12,000 unexpected dollars from the New York State Department of Health to combat communicable diseases that are easily spread through the wide use of heroin. The grant leverages an additional $5,000 already budgeted by the Chenango Health Department for a similar purpose.
At its December meeting, the County Board of Supervisors passed a resolution authorizing awarded funds, plus the budgeted $5,000, to be used to contract with the Chenango Health Network (CHN), an organization whose objectives are to increase access to health and wellness information and to health care services. Money will pay for CHN’s service of soliciting available grants to combat the heroin epidemic, explained Marcas Flindt, Director of the County Department of Public Health.
“This was a grant that was awarded to us because the (State) Department of Health felt there was an issue in our area. It’s not something we had to apply for,” said Flindt, citing communicable disease as a focus area for the state department in 2014. “I think that shows how our department has done a good job with investigating communicative diseases in a timely manner.”
CHN will also take on the role of facilitating the newly formed Chenango County Heroin Round Table, a group comprised of more than 40 local representatives from abuse treatment services, healthcare, social services, public health, local government, law enforcement, and the court system.
“We want to keep that group going for at least the next year,” Flindt said. “It’s really a longterm project.”
Heroin treatment admissions across New York State have increased by approximately 136 percent from 2004-2013, according to the Center for Alcohol and Substance Abuse at Columbia University. That figure is closer to 222 percent in upstate NY. What’s more, nine out of 10 people with addiction starting using substances before they turned 18.
The round-table aims to shrink that statistic. Flindt said the group is currently in the process of breaking up into three general subgroups to focus on prevention, harm reduction, and treatment. The goal, he added, is to take on the heroin epidemic through a more targeted approach.
“It’s not an issue we’ll be able to change overnight,” he added. “It may take several years before we see the effects of any community action.”
Local efforts to curtail the use of heroin comes at a time when state government is doing the same. In September, New York State started the “Combat Heroin” campaign that features PSAs, website, and efforts to heighten awareness via social media. Social media alone has reached an estimated 14 million people to date, according to the Office of the New York State Governor.
The website (combatheroin.ny.gov) offers personal stories, advice on recovery, prevention, and help services for people struggling with an addiction. The site has had more than 240,000 views since its launch, leading to requests of more than 150,000 Combat Heroin information flyers.
State legislators initiated phase two of the campaign last month, announcing that Combat Heroin PSAs would be shown in movie theaters throughout the state. Additionally, 10 new “real story” videos were posted to the state’s Combat Heroin website. PSAs will be shown in movie theaters prior to select movies rated PG-13 or R through early January.