Friend,
While at tonight’s State of the Union President Trump will speak to a whole host of issues, I want to lift up one that is deeply impacting NY-19: the opioid crisis.
Upstate New York has been hit hard by this crisis, and my district has some of the highest rates of overdose deaths in the state.
We need to address this like the national crisis it is.
This is why I invited Chatham Police Chief Peter Volkmann to join me at tonight’s State of the Union address. Chief Volkmann has been a leader in addressing addiction with services, not incarceration. He developed the “Chatham Cares 4 U” (CC4U) Initiative -- the program guarantees transportation and a treatment bed to any person who requests help with an opioid addiction.
We have learned from the failed “War on Drugs” that incarceration is not the solution to addiction. Leaders like Chief Volkmann show us what a compassionate community response can look like.
The only way we can solve this crisis is together -- Democrats and Republicans, law enforcement and medical professionals, those suffering from addiction and their families, the federal government and local officials.
Tonight, Chief Volkmann and I will send a powerful message that this epidemic requires urgent action.
With love and gratitude,
Antonio Delgado
