U.S. Congressman Nick LaLota. Photo from LaLota’s website
Freshman U.S. Congressman Nick LaLota (R-NY1) held the third telephone town hall event of his tenure Wednesday, July 26.
During this event, he addressed the exorbitant utility costs shouldered by Suffolk County residents, opined on rising opioid overdose deaths in the county and around the nation, and condemned the federal government’s handling of immigration.
Utility rates
County residents, on average, pay $226 per month on electricity, 28% higher than the national average, according to EnergySage. Pressed by one caller about how he would help lower energy bills for 1st District residents, LaLota proposed an “all-of-the-above energy strategy.”
“There’s battery, there’s wind, there’s solar,” he said. “I think that we should explore it all, and we should take advantage of everything that is on the table.”
He tied energy development to national security. By promoting homegrown energy sources, LaLota maintained that utility costs would begin to decrease along with American dependence on foreign energy.
“I think that increasing American energy independence will not only increase the supply of energy, it will bring the prices down,” he said. “A correlated benefit of that is we have to buy less oil from Russia, from Venezuela and from the Middle East.”
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency considers petroleum “a significant source of emissions of methane” while “drilling for oil may disturb land and marine ecosystems.” Despite these environmental risks, LaLota expressed support for expanding domestic drilling.
“Forty-something billion barrels of proven oil reserves are underneath our feet,” he said. “We can get those resources out of the ground safely. It will help bring energy prices down, both at the pump and what it costs to heat your home.”
SALT deductions
The congressman said he and members of a bipartisan caucus are working to repeal the $10,000 cap on state and local tax, or SALT, deductions created under the 2017 Trump-era Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
“We used to be able to, as New Yorkers, deduct an unlimited amount from our federal taxes that we paid into our state and local taxes,” LaLota said. “Right now, it’s capped at $10,000.”
LaLota said he had prepared legislation to increase the maximum federal SALT deduction to $60,000 for individuals and $120,000 for families. He pledged to oppose any tax package proposed by the Republican majority in the U.S. House which does not include “a reasonable accommodation” on SALT.
“I’m going to say ‘No SALT, no deal for real,’” he added. “I’m in it until the end.”
Immigration
LaLota denounced President Joe Biden’s (D) handling of the U.S.-Mexico border and New York City’s “sanctuary city” designation.
“I don’t think that we ought to be mixing unvetted migrants with our school-aged children,” LaLota said.
He also suggested that migrants receive disproportionate government assistance to other vulnerable groups.
“Right now, the homeless shelters in New York have more migrants in them than they have American citizens,” the congressman said. “Veterans, the mentally ill, drug addicts, they’re not getting the government resources they need because they’re being diverted to folks who are not in this country legally or are manipulating the asylum process.”
He added, “I think that needs to change.”
The congressman proposed reinstituting Title 42, a pandemic-era immigration policy allowing swift expulsion of asylum seekers over public health concerns.
“I support increasing funding for [U.S.] Customs and Border Protection, building more physical barriers, investing in technology and vehicles, and hiring more asylum judges,” he said, adding, “But what’s absent is we need leadership from the executive branch.”
Opioid epidemic
The most recent data from the New York State Department of Health indicate overdose deaths and those involving synthetic opioids had “significantly worsened” in Suffolk County between 2019 and 2020 — deaths in 2020 totaling 363, up 88 from the previous year.
Fentanyl “is coming in at ports of entry, it’s coming in between ports of entry,” the congressman said, advocating for beefier border security measures to reduce opioid deaths.
LaLota said the House-passed Stop Chinese Fentanyl Act would sanction Chinese companies “who are putting this poison into our system and killing our young folks,” adding, “We should exercise all other options on this.”
Public officials gathered at the H. Lee Dennison Building in Hauppauge Monday, July 25, to announce the opening of grant applications for programs targeting the opioid crisis.
The first round of program funding, which will total up to $25 million, is made available through an approximately $180 million settlement Suffolk is expected to receive “in litigation recovery dollars” over the next 18 years between the county and various manufacturers and distributors.
Last year, Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone (D) convened a joint legislative and executive task force to assess proper responses and coordinate efforts to counteract the opioid epidemic throughout the county.
A report prepared by the opioid task force suggests that the available funds target “prevention, harm reduction, treatment and recovery,” according to Bellone.
“These are the categories in which we will see the most significant gaps in programs and services and the greatest potential return on investment with respect to combating the opioid epidemic,” the county executive said.
‘The decisions that were made really created the dramatic rise in opioid overdoses.’
—Sarah Anker
The task force’s report also recommends a process through which organizations and institutions can apply for the available funding. Starting this week and running through Aug. 22, an opioid grant application is available on the county’s website.
The program is open to public, private, for-profit and nonprofit organizations. “If you’re an agency or organization in this opioid fight and you have a proposal that will help, especially in the areas outlined in the report, then we want to hear from you,” Bellone said.
Also in attendance were several members of the Suffolk County Legislature. Presiding Officer Kevin McCaffrey (R-Lindenhurst), a member of the opioid task force, stated that he and his colleagues in the Legislature are committed to making the best use of these resources as possible.
“This money came with a cost and that cost was lives,” McCaffrey said. “Although we can never get those lives back again, we can … use this money to make sure that others don’t have to suffer and that we [don’t] lose more lives.”
The presiding officer spoke of the ways in which opioids affect communities and the toll they take on families. “Every one of us here knows somebody that has been affected, whether that person has passed away or went to treatment and is still in recovery,” he said, adding, “The scourge that this has caused for the families … you would not want to wish this on any family that’s out there.”
‘This is a disease, and I still see a system that doesn’t recognize it as such.’
— Kara Hahn
Legislator Sarah Anker (D-Mount Sinai), chair of the opioid committee, advanced several reasons to combat the opioid epidemic aggressively. She recalled the decades of drug profiteering, failed policies and the absence of federal oversight, which all contributed to a steady rise in opioid-related deaths nationwide.
“The decisions that were made really created the dramatic rise in opioid overdoses,” she said. “There are so many companies and people that created this tsunami of death and now we are here to pick up the pieces.”
Anker referred to the $180 million made available to the county as “a drop in the bucket” compared to the billions in profits generated by those who have exploited opioid users in recent decades. While this money will catalyze the county’s efforts to rectify these past failures, she acknowledged that there remains much more work to be done.
“We’re going to use these funds for opioid addiction, prevention and helping those who are in treatment, but I implore the folks here listening to this press event to take an active role in helping those who have succumbed to addiction,” Anker said.
Legislator Leslie Kennedy (R-Nesconset), chair of the health committee, offered her own unique perspective on addiction, having witnessed its effects firsthand before joining the county Legislature.
“As a nurse for 30 years, as someone who has worked in an addiction facility on top of that for 10 years, I have lived the pain and have lived the death,” she said.
Kennedy acknowledged the contributions of those who initiated the lawsuit that made these funds available. While this money cannot compensate for the destruction of life and the carnage inflicted upon the community, she offered that this is a positive step in honoring those who are now lost to this disease.
“It’s not perfect, it’s not a lot, but if we didn’t sue, we would have nothing,” she said, adding that counteracting “addiction is a bipartisan effort.”
Another powerful voice for this cause is Legislator Kara Hahn (D-Setauket). She said she is familiar with the plight of opioid addiction, having witnessed the degradation of families and communities personally.
“This is a disease, and I still see a system that doesn’t recognize it as such,” Hahn said. “The disease model of addiction, trauma-informed practices, and recognizing what individuals go through when they face addiction is incredibly important.” She added, “We all have to work together, work strong, work hard and double down on our efforts.”
Latoya Bazmore and Devon Toney, co-founders of All Included ’N’ Treated (A.I.N.T.), near Ross Memorial Park in Brentwood. Photo by Raymond Janis
After serving out a 17-year state prison sentence, Devon Toney returned to society unprepared for the challenges ahead.
Toney described parole as just another pressurized situation in a string of high-pressure environments that he has experienced since childhood. Parole, he said, only aggravated his post-traumatic stress disorder, stymying any opportunities for upward growth.
He soon entered the shelter system in Suffolk County, traveling between homeless shelters and health care facilities, his most recent stay at The Linkage Center in Huntington. Eventually, feeling suffocated in the shelters and unable to sleep among strangers, he left that system for a life on the streets. By night, he slept in train stations, bus stations, dugouts and public parks. By day, he stole, often reselling juices and water just to get by.
Without adequate resources and a lack of attention, Toney said those experiencing homelessness “have to steal,” that life on the streets “causes clean people — healthy people — to become addicts because that’s all they’re around.”
Toney remains homeless to the present day, currently residing near Ross Memorial Park in Brentwood. His story is one of countless examples of how easily one can become homeless after giving up on shelter, falling through the cracks with few opportunities to rise above these dire circumstances.
‘It’s probably one of the most difficult and complex moral and legal issues that I deal with.’
— Jonathan Kornreich
A startling trend
Mike Giuffrida, associate director of the Long Island Coalition for the Homeless, a nonprofit that works throughout Long Island to determine better strategies and policies to address homelessness, said he has noticed a recent trend of others fleeing from shelters.
“Although emergency shelter is available to the majority of people who present as having nowhere else to go, we are seeing an increased rate of individuals who are presenting as unsheltered and are living on the street,” he said.
Motivating this shelter shock, Giuffrida sees two principal factors: “The greatest commonality of people that experience homelessness is … significant trauma, likely throughout the majority — if not all — of their lives,” he said. The second factor is the structure of the shelter system, which is constrained by strict guidelines from New York State and “can be retraumatizing for people or the shelter settings do not meet their needs.”
An aversion to communal living is commonplace among those requesting emergency shelter. In addition, occupants of these shelters are often asked to give up considerable portions of their income for shelter payments. “They pay, in some cases, almost all of their income in order to stay in that undesirable location,” Giuffrida said.
Clusters of homeless encampments can be found in areas throughout Suffolk County. Brookhaven Town Councilmember Jonathan Kornreich (D-Stony Brook) says there are likely dozens of individuals experiencing homelessness in his council district alone, concentrated primarily in Port Jefferson Station.
Kornreich complained about how he is limited in his capacity to help, saying he wishes that he could do more. “It’s probably one of the most difficult and complex moral and legal issues that I deal with,” he said. “The Town of Brookhaven doesn’t have any functions with respect to social services or enforcement, but because this is an area of concern to me, I try to identify people who might be in need of services and try to either talk to people myself or put them in touch with services.”
Those services are provided through the Suffolk County Department of Social Services. In an emailed statement, a spokesperson affiliated with DSS outlined the array of options that are available through the department.
“The Suffolk County Department of Social Services offers temporary housing assistance, in shelter settings, to eligible individuals and families experiencing homelessness,” the spokesperson said. “We contract with nonprofit agencies that provide case management services to each client based on their individual needs, with a focus on housing support. Services may include referrals to community agencies, mental health programs, as well as medical services. These services, with the support and encouragement of shelter staff, work in concert to transition those experiencing homelessness to appropriate permanent housing resources.”
In an interview, County Executive Steve Bellone (D) said the COVID-19 pandemic and nationwide economic challenges have only exacerbated the conditions of homelessness throughout the county. Despite external barriers, he holds that there is room for improvement.
“More could always be done, of course,” he said. “We are — as I’ve said many times before — coming out of COVID and grappling with impacts and effects that we’re going to be dealing with for years to come and that we don’t fully understand yet.” He added, “The Department of Social Services has, throughout COVID, and as we’ve started to move out of that now, worked very hard to fulfill its mission and will continue to do that.”
‘The frustrating part is that we are limited… We are limited in forcing a person to get medical treatment.’
— Sarah Anker
Accepting services: A two-way street
Suffolk County Legislator Sarah Anker (D-Mount Sinai) detailed the decades-long history of homelessness in Coram. She argues that it is closely tied to other pressing matters facing county government: public safety, access to health care, the opioid epidemic and inadequate compensation for social workers.
The county legislator also blamed stringent state guidelines that handicap DSS’s outreach efforts. “The frustrating part is that we are limited,” Anker said. “We are limited in forcing a person to get medical treatment.”
Legislator Nick Caracappa (C-Selden), the majority leader of the county Legislature, voiced similar frustrations. He said he is concerned by the growing number of people that reject services from DSS.
“Even though you offer them help, you offer them shelter, and you offer them medical [assistance], they often turn it down,” he said. “They’d rather be out in the cold, alone, in the dark — whatever it is — than seek help. And that’s concerning.”
Emily Murphy, a licensed social worker who wrote a thesis paper investigating homelessness in Port Jefferson Station, said another significant problem is the lack of assistance for undocumented immigrants, whose immigration status bars them from applying for services.
“It’s not a DSS decision, but it comes from higher up, that if you don’t have documentation you can’t receive SNAP [Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program] benefits or shelter,” Murphy said.
This changes during the colder months, according to Murphy, as shelters open their doors to all. Murphy also observed how a lack of political mobilization hampers the homeless community from receiving adequate government representation.
“That was the main thing,” Murphy said, referring to the homeless population. “It was a voice that was so often unheard and unlistened to.”
The gradual downward slope
Joel Blau, professor emeritus of the School of Social Welfare at Stony Brook University, has followed trends in homelessness for decades. He attributes rising homelessness in the United States since the 1970s to the stagnation of wages across that time frame coupled with the rising cost of housing.
“The notion of somebody with a high school education maintaining a decent standard of living is becoming ever more elusive,” he said. “Housing prices, particularly in cities, have escalated a lot, so unless you have two professionals in the family or one person who makes a lot of money, it’s increasingly difficult to get decent housing.”
Today, a growing number of people are just one step away from losing their homes. “Whether it be an accident or an illness or the loss of a job, all of a sudden they’re plummeting downward and onto the street,” he said.
Evaluating long-term projections of homelessness, Blau said there have been “periods where it plateaus and periods where it gets worse.” On the whole, he said, “the general trend is downward.”
Blau believes the way to remedy the issue is to change the ways in which society is organized. “It would require social housing, decommodifying it so that housing is a right, not something sold for profit,” he said. “And that’s probably, under the present political circumstances, a bridge too far.” In other words, problems associated with homelessness in this country have grown for many years and are likely to continue.
‘We need to let them know that we love and we care about them.’ — Devon Toney
Resurrection: A reason to hope
Toney has partnered with Latoya Bazmore, also of Brentwood, to create A.I.N.T. (All Included ’N’ Treated), a grassroots organization to combat homelessness in the community.
Toney said his primary goal is to access adequate housing. After that, he intends to galvanize his peers in the community, serving as a beacon for those who are also going through the struggle of homelessness. As someone who has experienced homelessness firsthand and who can relate to the plight, Toney believes he is uniquely situated to be an agent of change and a force of good.
“I need to be the one that interacts with these gang members, these addicts … they need somebody to articulate things to them,” he said. “We need to comfort them. We need to let them know that we love and we care about them.”
Suffolk County Legislator Sarah Anker speaks during a press conference in 2017 about the creation of a permanent panel to address the ever-growing opioid crisis. File photo by Kyle Barr
Suffolk County’s 2020 annual report on the lingering opioid crisis showed an increase in the number of overdoses from the previous year, with experts expressing concern for the impact the pandemic has had on addiction rates.
The Suffolk County Heroin and Opiate Epidemic Advisory Panel released its findings Dec. 29 showing there were 345 fatal overdoses in 2020, which includes pending analysis of some drug overdose cases, according to the county medical examiner’s office. While, on its face, that number did not increase over the past year, nonfatal overdoses climbed by 90 to 1,208, com-pared to 2019, according to Suffolk County police. This increase defies a general trending de-crease in nonfatal overdoses since 2017. Police also reported 910 opioid overdose-antidote na-loxone saves for individuals compared to 863 in 2019.
In some ways more worrying than overall overdose numbers has been the treatment situation on the ground, with professionals in the field reporting an increase in relapses during the pan-demic, according to the report.
Numbers released by police after a May inquiry from TBR News Media showed overdoses were up dramatically when comparing months before the start of the shutdown orders in March to the weeks directly afterward. Medical experts and elected officials all agreed that pandemic-related anxiety, plus the economic downturn and mandated isolation led to increased drug use overall. People in the treatment industry have also said the pandemic has pushed them toward utilizing telehealth.
Legislator Sarah Anker (D-Mount Sinai), the panel chair, said COVID-19 has led to challenges among all county governmental and community agencies, with “overwhelmed hospitals fighting on the frontline, addiction rates skyrocketing with limited resources and economic un-certainty due to business disruption.”
There have been 184 deaths related to opioids in 2020, according to the report, with 161 poten-tial drug overdoses still pending review. Among the North Shore towns, not accounting for those still in review, there were 18 deaths reported in Huntington, 13 in Smithtown and 69 in Brookhaven, the latter of which had the most opioid-related deaths of any Suffolk township. Police data also shows the 6th Precinct bore the brunt of the most overdoses and the most Narcan saves.
National data also bears a grim toll. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Pre-vention’s National Center for Health Statistics there has been a 10% increase in drug overdose deaths from March 2019 to March 2020. Approximately 19,416 died from overdoses in the U.S. in the first three months of 2020, compared to 16,682 in 2019.
In addition to Suffolk’s report, the advisory panel has sent letters to state and federal reps ask-ing them not to cut any state funding for treatment and prevention and for the state tosup-port provider reimbursement rates for telehealth and virtual care that are on par with face-to-face rates. They also requested that New York State waives the in-person meeting requirement for people to receive buprenorphine treatment, which can help aid in addiction to painkillers.
County legislators are also touting a new youth addiction panel, which is set to begin meeting in the new year. The county is also continuing its lawsuits against several pharmaceutical com-panies for their hand in starting the opioid epidemic.
That’s not to say there haven’t been other setbacks in Suffolk’s efforts against opioids. Last Oc-tober, county Legislator William “Doc” Spencer (D-Centerport) was arrested for an alleged at-tempt to trade oxycodone for sex. Spencer was the one to initiate the creation of the youth panel. He has pleaded not guilty, though he has stepped down from his position on the panel, among other responsibilities.
There are currently 29 members on the opioid advisory panel, including representatives from the county Legislature, law enforcement, first responders, treatment centers and shelters.
While Anker thanked current members of the panel for their continued efforts, she said more work is needed.
“The opioid epidemic is an ongoing issue that needs to be addressed continuously from all fronts,” she said.
While COVID-19 has become the dominant catastrophe of the moment, other longstanding crises have taken a backseat in the public eye.
Graphic by TBR News Media
The opioid crisis, an epidemic that has taken many more lives over a much longer stretch of time, is seeing a new rash of overdoses since the start of the pandemic.
Data provided by Suffolk County Police shows overdoses have generally increased from the same months last year to this year. In March, police counted a total of 14 fatal overdoses compared to 27 in 2019. There were 108 nonfatal overdoses compared to 93 last year. In April, the numbers jumped wildly from 15 fatal overdoses in 2019 to 30 in 2020. Nonfatal leaped from 67 to 113.
District Attorney Tim Sini’s (D) projections of overdose numbers tell an even more morose tale. With data that includes ODs that weren’t confirmed yet by toxicology reports, seeing a total increase of 19 percent of both fatal and nonfatal overdoses compared to the previous year. Though those numbers include all overdoses, not just related to opioids.
While it may be too soon to determine a specific link between the pandemic and the increase of overdoses, drug counselors and rehabs say they have seen the marked connection between isolation, mental illness and drug dependence. As time goes on and the country faces economic turmoil, some worry the situation may not improve for the rest of the year.
Addiction Relief Shifts to Remote Help
Dr. Carol Carter, the director of the Sunshine Prevention Center in Port Jefferson Station, works especially with youth and parents dealing with mental health and drug-related issues. She said her center quickly had to scramble after the state first started closing down. Since then the center has been hosting most programs over Zoom or in Facebook Live sessions. They have especially tried to focus on appreciating diversity, the issues of isolation and other anxieties. They have done children’s book reading and puppet shows over the internet as well, looking for ways to maintain positivity. They have also connected with families by dropping off care packages and calling families each week.
Sunshine Prevention Center in Port Jefferson Station created a “Blessing Box” for people to take necessary items when they need it and drop it off as a donation. Photo from SPC Facebook
But while such meetings may be a substitute for counseling sessions, Carter said the main difficulty is preventing people from getting on drugs, especially as so many remain cooped up indoors,many in unstable situations.
“We’ve seen an increase of response hotline, in depression and suicidal ideations,” Carter said. “We’re still collecting data, but we’ve heard of an increase in domestic abuse, an increase in substance use, alcohol abuse, as their way of coping with isolation.”
Director of Drug and Alcohol Counseling Services at the Smithtown Horizons Counseling and Education Center, Matthew Neebe, said it’s hard to gauge if there has been an increase in drug use since the pandemic as the center is not facilitating toxicology screenings. Yet, he added there is “anecdotal” evidence for the pandemic causing and increase in relapses and drug use.
“Two of the biggest risk factors for substance use are social isolation and stress,” he said. “Both are consequences of the stay-at-home orders.”
While the center itself is considered essential, they have continued to operate at a reduced level. However, with most staff working from home, all therapy sessions are done via telehealth. They have been conducting some group sessions virtually, though they have reduced the number of sessions from their regular schedule.
Anthony Rizzuto is the director of provider relations for Seafield, a drug rehab with inpatient facilities in Westhampton and outpatient facilities in Amityville, Medford, Mineola, Patchogue and Riverhead. He said they too have been hearing of the increase in overdoses and the increased use of alcohol and other drugs as more are quarantined at home.
“We know people will turn to drugs or alcohol, and God knows right now we have plenty of stressors — we have people who have lost loved ones, people who have lost their jobs, people who are in financial ruin, some are losing their businesses,” Rizzuto said. “We see an increase right now, and quite honestly I expect a huge increase as this continues going on and after this is over, if this ever happens.”
While there are obvious downsides to telehealth, the push is one that was in the docket for a while, and with the current pandemic, has finally pushed many institutions into taking it seriously, said Dr. Christian Racine, the senior director for clinics for the Family Service League Long Island. The nonprofit social services agency also runs the Diagnostic, Assessment and Stabilization Hub in partnership with Suffolk County.
The benefits, Racine said, include allowing people who may have had mobility issues or other mitigating problems the chance to get into the system. People who call the hotline for the clinic or DASH center are now immediately put into the system, where they can connect with people to understand what the person is going through and what services they should get connected to. It also allows for flexibility in time and location, no longer requiring a person to drive what can be a long distance to start the treatment process.
FSL’s Mobile Crisis Teams continue to operate, often going to a person’s home to talk through the door or even speak to a person through video chat or phone right on the person’s driveway.
“We didn’t see a drop in services, [but] an increase in services because of flexibility of being able to use telehealth,” Racine said. “People are being frank about increased cravings or relapses.”
Sarah Anker, the legislative chair of the opioid panel, said they too are concerned of increase in opioid overdoses. File photo by Erika Kara
Though there still are several downsides to telehealth. Perhaps the most egregious is for those living in unstable home conditions, where the person on one of the calls may not want others to listen in.
“Even if you get along with the rest of the family, you’re worried about what you’re sharing or you’re hesitant to share certain details,” he said. “Some don’t have the best relationship with their families. It’s absolutely a concern, and we’re very conscious of that.”
While Rizutto acknowledged some of the benefits of telehealth, he said he preferred the in-person meetings where he said “a lot is being said nonverbal.”
Otherwise, with so many resources shut down, from in-person AA meetings to churches to gyms, “Zoom really played a part to give people something,” Rizutto said. “People are in those meetings who had never been to therapy, before people from all over. It is definitely meeting a need.”
Government and Police Response
Suffolk County Police Chief Stuart Cameron said cops have noticed increased incidents of drug overdoses, though despite the emphasis on social distancing police are still able to administer Narcan, a life-saving drug that halts an opioid overdose.
But with treatment and prevention as the more important component of substance abuse, the pandemic presents its own unique challenges.
“It’s not just opioids — people are self medicating, people are isolated,” said Suffolk County Legislator Sarah Anker (D-Mount Sinai). Anker is the legislative chair of the Suffolk County Heroin and Opiate Epidemic Advisory Panel.
The trend is troubling, especially compared to Suffolk County’s previous models showing total overdoses are on the decline. In January, Suffolk released a report showing 2019’s projections of opioid-related deaths was 283, compared to 2018’s 380. Those decreased numbers of deaths were attributed, in part, to the greater use and availability of Narcan.
Anker said the numbers have caused real concerns among other members of the opioid advisory panel. In a meeting Friday, May 8, panel members discussed tapping into county forfeiture funding to create public service announcements on mental health and the different places to receive drug treatment. The panel also would look to advocate that the federal government should allow people to use Medicaid funds for teleconferencing, which it currently does not cover.
Suffolk County District Attorney Tim Sini says the issues with overdoses and drugs won’t improve with the ongoing pandemic. Photo by Alex Petroski
Sini said Suffolk County has not seen a decrease in drug-related activity despite the pandemic. This is mostly due to the nature of how drugs enter into Suffolk — smuggled into New York City then is sold wholesale to dealers on the ground, who usually drop it off to peoples’ houses or are picked up at select homes.
“We’re not seeing any drop except for powdered cocaine, but we’re not seeing that same situation with heroin or fentanyl,” the DA said.
Sini said while other crimes like break-ins have declined, the office has allocated more resources to the narcotics bureau, now standing at 13 narcotics prosecutors, which works closely with police to track dealers and prosecute them.
The DA’s office is also planning to roll out a new program that would work with a yet-to-be-named nonprofit and shuttle people in addiction to treatment providers. Sini said there will be more information on that program in the coming weeks.
The initial rise in COVID-19 cases forced the rehab facilities to cut back in bed capacity, especially as hospital-based detoxes turned into beds for COVID patients. Since then, as the number of hospitalizations declined, Rizzuto said now bed supply is better, but of more concern is funding for these facilities.
“Either a state-funded facility, nonprofits or private entities, I think the budget is going to be ravaged and with the lack of being able to collect, they will be looking to cut,” Rizzuto said. “I think they are going to have to cut in many different areas to meet the needs financially. Historically behavioral health is one of the things that gets slashed.”
Anker said members of the advisory panel have expressed their concerns for many different programs’ funding, especially as New York State reports huge drops in income. Many nonprofit rehabs and centers rely on such funding.
“Drug addiction is not decreasing, it’s increasing and they may be taking away those resources,” Anker said. “We may not hear it now, but we will see repercussions come out as we deal with pandemic.”
Maintaining the breadth of services, from inpatient care to outpatient care to paying for nursing and other medical staff, the rehabs and prevention centers requires a heavy dose of government funding. Racine said restructuring Medicaid could provide a necessary boost of aid.
“The idea of state funding being reduced is really a concern — a lot of services are expensive,” Racine said.
Despite the efforts of both government, for profit and nonprofit organizations, officials said they don’t expect numbers to return to the way they seemed to be heading only a year ago.
“I think it would be very hard to end 2020 on a decline,” Sini said. “We will see an increase in 2020, but we will all be working to bring those numbers down in 2021.”
Sheriff Errol Toulon speaks at the Sept. 26 event. Photo from Suffolk County Village Officials Organization
The opioid epidemic is so expansive that it seems impossible that one individual can end the overdoses and deaths and the related crimes. But even in the smallest municipalities — the villages, fire districts, school districts, people have the opportunity to institute real change.
On Sept. 26, members of the Suffolk County Village Officials Organization met to hear from the district attorney, the police commissioner and the sheriff about the current state of the opioid crisis. Presenters reviewed a wide range of resources and programs available in the county, but also emphasized that we all need to think outside the box to collectively address the explosion of narcotic drug use, which has also led to a local increase in illegal gun crimes and sex trafficking.
Village officials should hold public information sessions on what was learned at this meeting and create committees comprised of residents committed to help.People need to be better informed. In turn, other community leaders can invite speakers into local schools and religious centers to speak on the topic.
The facts are alarming.
In 2018, Suffolk police launched a sex trafficking investigation unit that has identified and interviewed over 200 local sex trafficking victims. County leaders say that the people behind these crimes exploit the young women by making them dependent upon opioids and demanding repayment through sex. Instead of calling it prostitution, law enforcement prefers that people now refer to these crimes as sex trafficking, and a modern day form of slavery.
An increase in narcotics-related, court-authorized surveillance in the county through search warrant and phone-line eavesdropping has translated into a 49 percent increase in illegal handgun seizures and a doubling of illegal shotgun seizures.
If you are an elected official in one of these villages, also consider opening a line of communication on the topic with residents. Submissions can be anonymous.
The county has outlined as its goals for the explosion of narcotic use and related crimes: prevention, treatment and recovery. Whatever your ideas are to better accomplish this, please let it become more widely known with your local elected officials, who can convey this to other branches of government. As a news publication, we also welcome your input.
Since 2013, an estimated 2,109 people have died of an opioid overdose in the county, according to its statistics. That toll would be higher, but thankfully Narcan, the opioid overdose antidote, is credited with saving lives and has reversed 599 overdoses so far in 2019.
Clearly, though, there still is ongoing, nightmarish trouble stemming from prescription pain killers and illicit opioid addictions. Action is needed.
For help, people can call these emergency numbers:
Suffolk County Substance Abuse Hotline: 631-979-1700
Suffolk County Police Department Crime Stoppers and Drug Activity Hotline:631-852-NARC (6272). Messages can also be sent as a text to “TIP SUFFOLK” at 888-777, but investigators prefer the open dialogue of a telephone call. All calls are confidential.
