NEW YORK CITY — The true scope of New York City’s fatal overdose problem for the past two years remains unknown because city officials have dragged their feet on the literal life-and-death data, advocates charged. The city needs to release fatal overdose numbers from three months of 2021 and all of 2022, advocates with VOCAL-NY […]
PATCH: NYC Stalls Vital OD Data, Puts Safe Injection Sites At Risk: Read More »
Contact: Jasmine Budnella, Jasmine@vocal-ny.org MISSING DATA: VOCAL-NY CALLS ON MAYOR ADAMS & DOHMH COMMISSIONER VASAN TO RELEASE OVERDOSE DATA NEW YORK — In response to news that New York City’s Overdose Prevention Centers will run out of funding by February, and Mayor Adams and DOHMH Commissioner Vasan withholding 2021 finalized overdose data detailing the fatal
New York’s $2.5 billion in opioid settlement money is no “windfall.” It’s not something that happened to drop in our laps by happy accident. That money was earned through human misery. The funds were handed over by opioid manufacturers and distributors who profited from others’ addiction, but they’re not the ones who paid. The price
TIMES UNION: EDITORIAL: ACTION ON OPIODS Read More »
Just over a year after New York City led the nation in establishing two overdose prevention centers to serve people at risk of falling to a continuing epidemic of opioid abuse, not only have no additional facilities opened, the existing ones are now at risk of closing. The centers, run by nonprofit OnPoint, could run out
New york daily news: No Harm done: overdose prevention centers must stay open Read More »
The disruption to the social fabric caused by COVID-19, exacerbated by a failed government response that left over 1 million people dead and a social service safety net in even worse shape than before, has only intensified the intersecting crises faced by VOCAL-NY members. This social dislocation has also impacted the political environment, turning back
2023-2024 New York State Legislative Platform Read More »
The continued harm from criminalization, incarceration, and the legacy of former Governor Cuomo’s austerity have resulted in a historic number of New Yorkers dying from preventable overdoses, record high homelessness, increased rates of hepatitis C and emerging HIV clusters. This session, our state must continue the momentum from last year and reverse these harms by
2023-2024 New York State Budget Platform Read More »
CONTACT: Jasmine Budnella, jasmine@vocal-ny.orgMariah McGough, mariah@vocal-ny.org VOCAL-NY CONDEMNS GOV. HOCHUL’S DECISION NOT TO INVEST OPIOID SETTLEMENT FUNDS IN OVERDOSE PREVENTION CENTERS AMID A SURGING OVERDOSE CRISIS NEW YORK — Yesterday, news broke that Governor Hochul rejected the recommendation by the Opioid Settlement Funds Advisory Board to fund and expand Overdose Prevention Centers (OPCs). In response,
CONTACT: Jasmine Budnella, jasmine@vocal-ny.org VOCAL-NY CONDEMNS CALIFORNIA GOV. NEWSOM’S VETO OF LEGISLATION TO AUTHORIZE OVERDOSE PREVENTION CENTERS VOCAL-NY Calls on Governor Hochul to Lead on the Overdose Crisis in New York State by Authorizing Overdose Prevention Centers In New York City Alone, Overdose Prevention Centers Have Intervened in More than 415 Overdoses NEW YORK —
The rally was largely composed of members of VOCAL-NY’s User Union, a group of past and present drug users mobilized by demands for safe use, harm reduction and the general right to live in a society that often abandons and fails them. Read More
CONTACT: Mariah McGough, mariah@vocal-ny.org, 203 470 9979 LET US LIVE: DRUG USERS URGE GOV. HOCHUL TO USE EXECUTIVE ACTION TO AUTHORIZE OVERDOSE PREVENTION CENTERS See Images and Videos From the Actions in Albany and New York City on Social Media Here NEW YORK — Today, leaders with VOCAL-NY gathered at the Governor’s Manhattan Office and the Governor’s Mansion
