Governor Andrew Cuomo has announced the launch of a statewide heroin task force charged with ending the heroin and opioid crisis in New York.
The group, comprised of a broad coalition of experts in healthcare, drug policy, advocacy, education, and parents and New Yorkers in recovery, will build on the state’s previous efforts and use their expertise and experience to develop a comprehensive action plan to combat the state’s opioid epidemic.
Members of the task force will hold public listening sessions across New York to inform their recommendations.
To date, New York has trained thousands of first responders and community members to recognize and respond to overdoses.
Since 2006, the state’s community overdose prevention and naloxone distribution program has enrolled more than 225 registered programs, which have trained more than 112,000 individuals.
As a result, more than 3,500 overdose reversals have been documented, with over 1,500 lives saved in 2015 alone.
For more information on the new task force go to the newly formed NYS websiteon combating heroin.
