Alliance Alert: New data shows New York City overdose deaths are finally beginning to reduce, but these trends are not true for everyone. A report released on Thursday highlighted a 1% decline in overall overdose deaths, representing 24 less deaths in 2023 than in 2022. Current trends suggest this number will be even lower in 2024, if continued efforts to address substance use needs are effective.
But the data also outlines a concerning trend in the wrong direction for black and brown New Yorkers as well as communities with high poverty. In particular, the Bronx continues to have the highest overdose rate of any borough as well as lower investment in services to support those dealing with substance use challenges.
New York City and State must make more direct investments in neighborhoods with high overdose deaths, with the goal of creating services in collaboration with the communities rather than a top-down approach which does not address the immediate needs seen by community members. The City must also be more transparent about how they have spent the $154 million in opioid settlement funds so both government and the public can determine what funding and programs have been the most successful. Determining this is necessary to utilize the dwindling opioid settlement fund effectively and efficiently by prioritizing the strategies which are most effective for underserved populations like communities of color.
The Alliance will continue to advocate for person centered services which are created in collaboration with the communities they intend to serve with a focus on communities of color who have been historically seen a lack of investments and services to prevent and address substance use challenges and overdose. See below for more information.
Modest Dip in City Overdoses Doesn’t ‘Scratch the Surface,’ Experts Say
By Amanda D’Ambrosio | Crain’s Health Pulse | October 18, 2024
After the city’s overdose rate skyrocketed for four years in a row, deaths inched down for the first time last year, new data shows.
The city touted a 1% decline in fatalities in a report released Thursday, after pouring millions into its overdose response. But some experts say that those investments haven’t yielded the rapid progress needed to match the urgency of the crisis, especially in Black and brown communities that continue to see higher death rates.
New York City reported 3,046 overdose deaths in 2023, a decline of 24 deaths year-over-year, according to data released by the Health Department. The trend could continue in 2024; there were 616 deaths in the first three months of this year, down from 726 deaths during the same time in 2023, the data shows.
“It’s a step in the right direction,” said Ann-Marie Foster, president and CEO of Phoenix House, a substance use treatment organization based in Long Island City. “But we haven’t scratched the surface.”
Last year’s overdose count was still double what it was in 2019, and falls disproportionately on New Yorkers who historically have sparse access to harm reduction and treatment programs.
Although overdoses declined overall, officials should be alarmed by the fact that the problem might be getting worse – not better – in some areas, said Dr. Noa Krawczyk, a substance use epidemiologist at NYU Langone.
More than 1,000 Black New Yorkers died from an overdose last year, as well as more than 1,000 Latino residents, city data shows. Deaths were highest among New Yorkers between the ages of 55 and 64, worsening in this age group year-over-year.
Overdoses were also significantly higher in high-poverty neighborhoods in the Bronx, which had the highest overdose rate of any other borough. Neighborhoods in Upper Manhattan, Central Brooklyn, Northern Staten Island and Rockaway also had an inflated death rate, according to the data.
Disparities and still-high overdose deaths have sparked calls for additional investments in communities hardest-hit by the opioid epidemic. New York City has received $154 million in opioid settlement funds – which come from litigation against manufacturers and distributors for their role in the crisis – to address high overdose rates. The bulk of that funding has gone to city agencies including the Health Department, the public hospital system and the Office of Chief Medical Examiner, but it’s not entirely clear how much money has been funneled to a myriad of city-run programs.
Substance use treatment and harm reduction providers have lambasted what they describe as a top-down decision-making approach by city officials and a lack of transparency around where the settlement funds have gone so far. They’ve also called for targeted investments in outreach and social services programs in the communities where overdose rates are the highest.
“The gap between where the overdoses occur – the Bronx – and where the money is allocated should shock the conscience,” said Joyce Rivera, chief executive of St. Ann’s Corner of Harm Reduction in the South Bronx.
Krawczyk said that part of the city’s response should include investments that bring services directly to impacted neighborhoods. The city has two overdose prevention centers – supervised drug use sites that intervene in fatal overdoses — that have prevented more than 1,600 deaths, according to the city. But those centers only exist in East Harlem and Washington Heights – out of reach for people in other boroughs who could benefit from those services, Krawczyk said.
Providers have also called for the city to align its public health emergency response with that of the Covid-19 pandemic. The city installed pop-up tents for testing and treatment, as well as outreach teams to provide social services that could make a difference in overdose deaths, that provided social services for individuals facing housing or food insecurity, Foster said.
“We have to see that what we’re facing is a public health crisis,” Foster said. “We need a strategy that allows all hands on deck.”