Governor Hochul Expands Access to Lifesaving Overdose Emergency Kits in Domestic Violence Programs Across New York

 

Assistance for Survivors of Domestic and Intimate Partner Violence, Who Are at Increased Risk of Overdose

Continues New York’s Efforts to Address Opioid and Overdose Epidemic Including Providing Nearly 700,000 Naloxone Kits Statewide, Making More than $335 Million in Opioid Settlement Funds Available, and Deploying Mobile Units and Other New Strategies

Governor Kathy Hochul today announced that domestic violence shelters and service providers across New York State will now have access to free Overdose Emergency Kits following a partnership between the New York State Office for the Prevention of Domestic Violence (OPDV), the Office of Addiction Services and Supports (OASAS), and the Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS). The kits are made possible by Project COPE (Community Overdose Prevention Education), a Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) grant-funded initiative.

“The opioid and overdose epidemic has impacted far too many New Yorkers,” Governor Hochul said. “Alongside harm reduction, preventive, and treatment support programs, the expanded access to lifesaving overdose emergency kits in domestic violence programs will save lives, and we will continue to focus State resources towards addressing the overdose epidemic effectively and compassionately.”

This initiative continues Governor Hochul’s aggressive, ongoing efforts to address the opioid and overdose epidemic. Over the past 18 months, New York has distributed nearly 700,000 Overdose Emergency Kits statewide, including many through New York’s first-in-the-nation online ordering portal.

An Overdose Emergency Kit is a wall-mounted metal box that contains naloxone, the medicine that rapidly reverses an opioid overdose. As part of this new initiative, residential domestic violence providers can place a kit in their shelters so that residents and staff have access to this life saving medication. Also included in the boxes are training resources for administering naloxone. Additionally, Project COPE is offering free training for domestic violence program staff on harm reduction and overdose prevention.

Research has repeatedly shown a strong correlation between domestic violence and substance use. One example is through substance use coercion, a prevalent but underrecognized form of abuse that poses a significant danger to survivors. Additionally, studies show people who are abused are more likely to use substances as a way to cope with abuse related trauma and physical harm. Survivors experience unique risk factors that put them at increased risk of overdose, including pervasive social stigmas towards both survivors and substance use that can cause major barriers to accessing care. This means many survivors are unable to obtain lifesaving overdose prevention tools like naloxone. Domestic violence programs are uniquely poised to bridge this gap through offering naloxone onsite to survivors.

Through this partnership, OPDV, OASAS and OCFS hope to reach survivors of domestic and intimate partner violence who may otherwise never have access to lifesaving resources like naloxone due to the numerous barriers they face.

In addition to this effort, New York is continuing to address the opioid and overdose epidemic by:

• Leading the nation by making more than $335 million in opioid settlement funding available to support a full continuum of prevention, treatment, harm reduction, and recovery initiatives in New York State. This funding is being distributed in accordance with the priorities of the Opioid Settlement Fund Advisory Board. More information on the initiatives this funding is supporting is available here.
• Creating mobile units that bring services directly to people in their communities, offering admission assessments and medication induction for all types of MAT, medication administration and observation, toxicology tests, and other medical services. They are designed to reach people who face barriers accessing traditional brick-and-mortar locations.
• Deploying outreach and engagement services support teams that connect high-risk individuals and populations to harm reduction and treatment services and provide health education.
• Establishing Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics (CCBHCs) to provide an array of coordinated services to address substance use and/or mental health, including crisis intervention, screening and assessments, and treatment planning.
• Opening crisis stabilization centers to provide support, assistance, and urgent access to care for individuals experiencing a crisis situation related to substance use and/or a mental health condition. These programs assist individuals experiencing a mental health or substance use crisis 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

OASAS Commissioner Dr. Chinazo Cunningham said, “People in domestic violence situations can be at an increased risk for substance use, and it is important that we work to reach them with information and resources to help them stay safe. The naloxone included in these kits is one of the most important tools we have to prevent overdose deaths, and by working with our partners to make this medication more accessible, it will help to save lives across New York State.”

New Yorkers struggling with an addiction, or whose loved ones are struggling, can find help and hope by calling the state’s toll-free, 24-hour, 7-day-a-week HOPEline at 1-877-8-HOPENY (1-877-846-7369) or by texting HOPENY (Short Code 467369).