What if we plow $38 million into more treatment instead of policing? It began as a novel idea and was sprung into action as New York City overdoses spiked to 1,374 in 2016, mostly from opioids. Operating under the name Healing NYC, the program primarily included greater use of naloxone (an opioid reversal medication) and underwriting a support group comprised of former heroin addicts hoping to lift others like themselves into sobriety. City run clinics, at the same time, also made buprenorphine more readily available as part of medically assisted treatment, to serve as an additional part of the solution. How are things working out? While there are still no concrete stats, anecdotal evidence seems to show numbers moving in the right direction. Perhaps with greater resources applied nationwide, this program can serve as a role model allowing others city’s to emulate New York’s apparent success in getting more people into treatment instead of into body bags and behind bars.
