Overdose AR Turns One!!
Greetings all,
On December 4th 2017, the Overdose Avoidance and Recovery Initiative was established. The collaboration between the District Attorney’s Office, the court, Defense Bar and Bronx Community Solutions was born. OAR was created to address the rising fatal overdose crisis. If the Bronx was a state, we would have the 15th highest rate of fatal overdoses in the nation. This epidemic has taken mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, wives, husbands, sons and daughters. The criminal justice system once sought to criminalize and stigmatize those with addictions. But this initiative was created to remove that stigma and offer help to those consumed by this fatal addiction.
More than 1,370 New Yorkers died from overdoses in 2016 — twice the number of deaths from homicides and car wrecks combined. Roughly 80% of the overdoses involved opioids. Out of those, 90% were caused by Fentanyl, a powerful synthetic drug said to be 50 times more powerful than Heroin. Chemically produced Fentanyl and Carfentanyl has not only made its way to the Heroin supply, but it is being pressed into Cocaine, Crack, illicitly produced Xanax, Klonopin and Percocets. It has even been found in K2 synthetic marijuana.
This has led to Narcan trainings popping up on street corners and even at Yoga studios; Narcan is a medication that can be used to reverse opioid overdoses, but Narcan is just a bandage to a broader systemic addiction crisis across the city. This has become a public health crisis. Bodies are turning up in public restrooms, in parks and under bridges.
In an attempt to reduce such overdoses, OAR offers nonviolent offenders the option of treatment in lieu of incarceration. We must view addiction as a medical and social problem more than a criminal problem. In the past year, 50 participants have graduated from OAR. 50 people have gotten another chance to live. 50 families have earned more time with their loved ones and that’s 50 reasons why this initiative works. In this new year, OAR will continue to work together with a strong network of providers to connect and support participants to the services needed. OAR would not be possible without our preferred providers who have made themselves available to engage clients.
In the words of Bronx County Criminal Court Chief Administrative Judge George Grasso, The OAR Court is an important Criminal Court innovation that will save lives. OAR is not about ‘crime and punishment,’ but about ‘compassion and recovery.’ This focused, collaborative effort by the Criminal Court in partnership with the District Attorney, defense bar and Bronx Community Solutions provides an immediate response to an at-risk individual that was previously lacking in the criminal justice system. I am proud to be part of it”.
Lastly, each of our participants look up and read the quotes on the walls. Last week in particular a client looked into my eyes after she read this quote on our wall: “I never believed there was a such thing as “hope” until today; I now feel there is in fact such a thing, and for the first time in my life, I feel as if it’s for me.” She stated that quote is about her. She never believed in hope until she found OAR and BCS.
Thank you all for being a part of this life changing initiative.
Carmen Alcantra
OAR Program Coordinator
On December 4th 2017, the Overdose Avoidance and Recovery Initiative was established. The collaboration between the District Attorney’s Office, the court, Defense Bar and Bronx Community Solutions was born. OAR was created to address the rising fatal overdose crisis. If the Bronx was a state, we would have the 15th highest rate of fatal overdoses in the nation. This epidemic has taken mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, wives, husbands, sons and daughters. The criminal justice system once sought to criminalize and stigmatize those with addictions. But this initiative was created to remove that stigma and offer help to those consumed by this fatal addiction.
More than 1,370 New Yorkers died from overdoses in 2016 — twice the number of deaths from homicides and car wrecks combined. Roughly 80% of the overdoses involved opioids. Out of those, 90% were caused by Fentanyl, a powerful synthetic drug said to be 50 times more powerful than Heroin. Chemically produced Fentanyl and Carfentanyl has not only made its way to the Heroin supply, but it is being pressed into Cocaine, Crack, illicitly produced Xanax, Klonopin and Percocets. It has even been found in K2 synthetic marijuana.
This has led to Narcan trainings popping up on street corners and even at Yoga studios; Narcan is a medication that can be used to reverse opioid overdoses, but Narcan is just a bandage to a broader systemic addiction crisis across the city. This has become a public health crisis. Bodies are turning up in public restrooms, in parks and under bridges.
In an attempt to reduce such overdoses, OAR offers nonviolent offenders the option of treatment in lieu of incarceration. We must view addiction as a medical and social problem more than a criminal problem. In the past year, 50 participants have graduated from OAR. 50 people have gotten another chance to live. 50 families have earned more time with their loved ones and that’s 50 reasons why this initiative works. In this new year, OAR will continue to work together with a strong network of providers to connect and support participants to the services needed. OAR would not be possible without our preferred providers who have made themselves available to engage clients.
In the words of Bronx County Criminal Court Chief Administrative Judge George Grasso, The OAR Court is an important Criminal Court innovation that will save lives. OAR is not about ‘crime and punishment,’ but about ‘compassion and recovery.’ This focused, collaborative effort by the Criminal Court in partnership with the District Attorney, defense bar and Bronx Community Solutions provides an immediate response to an at-risk individual that was previously lacking in the criminal justice system. I am proud to be part of it”.
Lastly, each of our participants look up and read the quotes on the walls. Last week in particular a client looked into my eyes after she read this quote on our wall: “I never believed there was a such thing as “hope” until today; I now feel there is in fact such a thing, and for the first time in my life, I feel as if it’s for me.” She stated that quote is about her. She never believed in hope until she found OAR and BCS.
Thank you all for being a part of this life changing initiative.
Carmen Alcantra
OAR Program Coordinator
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