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Harm Reduction Outreach Fueled by Funding

Peer Recovery Professionals from (Peer Alliance Recovery Center) and the Citywide Addiction Support Network held an overdose prevention health fair at City Hall recently.

While there, they engaged both New York City Council Members and passersby to discuss harm reduction strategies and provide one-on-one Narcan training.

The grassroots event was designed to reinforce the importance of keeping overdose prevention and harm reduction on the table during the Council’s ongoing budget discussions for the FY24-25 year.

Since 2020, the NYC Council has funded the Narcan training courses PARC offers the public. Peer Professionals teach New Yorkers how to reverse a deadly opioid overdose with the lifesaving medication Narcan. Classes are taught online, in the community, and at the Centers.

   

Among the harm reduction tools displayed and given away were Narcan and wound care kits, educational resources, and test strips used to test for the presence of fentanyl or xylazine.

Fentanyl is at the heart of the majority of opioid overdoses. Even one gram of the manufactured (typically, illegally) substance can be enough to cause a fatal overdose. In 2022, 81% of all opioid overdose deaths were attributed to the presence of fentanyl (NYC Department of Health, 2022).

Xylazine (commonly referred to as “tranq”) use has increased in recent years at an alarming rate. The non-opioid sedative is commonly used by veterinarians as a tranquilizer for large animals such as horses. Xylazine has been found mixed with other substances in a rising number of overdose cases – from 19% to 22% over one year (NYC Department of Health, 2022). Human use has resulted in large wounds and necrotic flesh, often necessitating limb amputations.

We thank the Council Members who stopped by for Narcan training or to learn more about harm reduction:

  • Shaun Abreu 
  • Alexa Aviles
  • Chris Banks 
  • Erik Bottcher
  • Justin Brannan
  • Gale Brewer
  • Tiffany Caban
  • Carmen de la Rosa
  • Oswald Feliz
  • Linda Lee
  • Mercedes Narcisse
  • Chi Osse
  • Rafael Salamanca 
  • Althea Stevens
  • Susan Zhuang

To schedule a Narcan training session in your community or to register for the next online Narcan training class, contact PARC at 929-244-1445 or 929-244-1500.