Syderia Asberry and Shawn Hill just started a [ [link removed] ]petition to New York
State Governor Kathy Hochul; New York State OASAS Commissioner Chinazo
Cunningham:

Stop Fueling the Overdose Epidemic! Locate Small-Scale, Effective, and
Holistic Drug Programs in All Communities

[ [link removed] ]Sign now
Concentrating New York City’s methadone mega-centers in low-resourced
neighborhoods fuels the overdose epidemic.

[ [link removed] ]Image of a Black woman wearing a mask with the text 'Tell Walmart &
Kroger: ION GOT IT. We need affordable COVID-19 tests now

Tell Governor Hochul and OASAS to locate small-scale, effective, and
holistic drug programs in all communities

  

[ [link removed] ]Take Action


Dear John,

I just started a petition titled "[ [link removed] ]Tell Governor Kathy Hochul and OASAS
Commissioner Chinazo Cunningham: Stop Fueling the Overdose Epidemic!"

Why are 19% percent of New York’s opioid treatment programs in Harlem when
only 4.3% of treatment patients live in the area?^1 Most of New York’s
opioid treatment programs have been packed in historically redlined
communities. For instance, the New York State Office of Addiction Services
and Supports (OASAS) perpetuates redlining by repeatedly licensing
methadone clinics that ultimately concentrate within Harlem.^2 Currently,
75 percent of the opioid treatment patients that are sent to programs
located in Harlem and East Harlem do not live in these
communities—traveling from as far away as Staten Island.^3 Drug use is not
limited to communities of color and so the treatment facilities shouldn’t
be either. Concentrating the majority of New York City’s methadone
mega-centers in a handful of low-resourced neighborhoods limits convenient
patient access and fuels the overdose epidemic. New Yorkers shouldn’t have
to travel for hours to access vital, daily care. 

When programs are more conveniently located in all neighborhoods, drug
treatment success increases.^4 Equitably distributing the locations of
treatment centers throughout New York will not only work toward racial
justice, but it will also lead to better health outcomes for all. That’s
why we are demanding OASAS and Governor Hochul to decentralize the
concentration of opioid centers in Harlem and commit to a data-driven,
equitable approach that increases access to community-based programs that
are small-scale, effective, and holistic.

[ SIGN ]Tell Governor Kathy Hochul and OASAS Commissioner Chinazo Cunningham:
Stop Fueling the Overdose Epidemic!

The current presence of treatment mega-centers in communities of color
reinforces the message that addiction is a Black issue and one that should
be contained in Black neighborhoods. When the crack epidemic ravaged Black
communities in the 1980s and 1990s, Black people were criminalized, Black
families were ripped apart, and Black children were forced into foster
care.^5 Government leaders harmed Black communities instead of helping
them. This is in stark contrast to how the current opioid crisis is being
handled with swift action to save lives. There is undeniably more support
now—from prioritizing treatment centers to actually acknowledging this
drug epidemic as a public health emergency. But, again, Black communities
are being stigmatized and asked to shoulder the weight of recovery for the
rest of the city. This can be retraumatizing to those who were directly
affected by the crack epidemic and witnessed how concentration can lead to
communities falling apart.

While methadone mega-centers provide the government with bureaucratic and
economic utility, they ultimately shift inefficiency on the patients who
must travel for daily care. Concurrently, the density of programs
profoundly impacts the under-resourced communities that house them while
concurrently bolstering the property values of wealthier and whiter
neighborhoods that have effectively outsourced drug treatment care.
Leaders like Governor Hochul and OASAS Commissioner Cunningham must act to
desaturate the burden that Harlem and East Harlem have been shouldering
for decades and reverse the impact that treatment mega-centers have had on
fueling the opioid crisis and harming Black communities.

[ SIGN ]Demand that Governor Hochul and OASAS Commissioner Cunningham commit to
reducing the disproportionate density of drug programs in Harlem and
across New York City. 

We envision a vibrant, tolerant, clean, and safe community where everyone
who lives, works, goes to school, and seeks treatment in Harlem can
thrive. Our goal is to balance compassion with the demand that all
communities take their fair share. We want to support our neighbors who
continue to struggle with systemic and generational health, economic,
social, and safety disparities. And we want to end the decades-long
practice of packing drug treatment mega-centers into Black communities. We
want small-scale, community-based, holistic, effective treatment centers
in all New York neighborhoods.

By leveraging the OASAS relicensing process and new opioid settlement
funds, Governor Hochul and Commissioner Cunningham can rebalance OASAS
programs on a geographic and fair-share basis. Join us in demanding that
they do! 

[ [link removed] ]Add your name: Tell Governor Hochul and OASAS Commissioner Cunningham
to stop fueling the opioid crisis and create small-scale, effective,
holistic drug treatment programs in all communities! 

Thank you,

Syderia Asberry and Shawn Hill

 

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[ [link removed] ]Sign now

References:

 1. Garber, Nick. “Drug Clinics Face Scrutiny in Harlem as Residents Push
Back.” Harlem, NY Patch, Patch, 24 Mar. 2021,
[link removed]
 2. Hill, Shawn. “New York City’s Opioid Treatment Program Geographies and
Structural Racism .” Fordham, July 2021, [link removed]
 3. Hill, Shawn. “Over 75% of Patients in Harlem & East Harlem Opioid
Treatment Programs Are Not Residents of Harlem.” Greater Harlem
Coalition, 7 July 2021,
[link removed]
 4. Ahmad, N. Jia, et al. “Improving Access to Evidence-Based Medical
Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder: Strategies to Address Key Barriers
within the Treatment System.” National Academy of Medicine, 29 Apr.
2020,
[link removed] 
 5. Harp, Kathi L H, and Amanda M Bunting. “The Racialized Nature of Child
Welfare Policies and the Social Control of Black Bodies.” Social
politics vol. 27,2 (2020): 258-281. doi:10.1093/sp/jxz039


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