The Sunset Park Health Council, including nine Brooklyn-based Family Health Centers at NYU Langone Health, has been awarded $600,000 to expand its anti-overdose education program across Brooklyn.
Over the next three years, the Family Health Centers will use the funds — granted by the Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation — to support its Prevention Education Partnership program. PEP offers talks and trainings on opioid use, overdose prevention, and harm reduction for teachers, students and schools, with a mission to “to keep youth safe, healthy, and out of the emergency department.”
“All of us at the Family Health Centers at NYU Langone are thrilled to receive this grant and expand the overdose prevention program to make a greater impact for the youth in the Sunset Park community,” said Dr. Diana Lee, assistant medical director, Addiction Medicine Program Family Health Centers at NYU Langone, in a statement. “This funding allows us to address the critical need for opioid education and overdose preparedness in schools and prioritize the safety of our nation’s youth in moments of crisis.”
The last few years have seen a surge in overdoses caused by illegally-manufactured fentanyl, according to NYU-Langone. In response, PEP is working to develop a comprehensive “School-Based Opioid Overdose Prevention Program,” designed to address the dangers of fentanyl head on. Opioid overdose deaths in New York State increased by 68% between 2019 and 2021, according to the state Comptroller’s office, seemingly spurred by the pandemic.
In 2022, 5,337 people died from opioid overdose in New York State, per health department data and more than 92% of those deaths were caused by synthetic opioids including fentanyl. Nearly half of those deaths were within New York City alone.
In schools, the program would train staff how to respond to opioid overdoses, how to screen for drug use and refer students out for treatment, and distribute Narcan, or naloxone, which is used to stop opioid overdoses. It would also provide an educational curriculum for students and parents. The goal, in part, would be to ensure schools are equipped to address the ongoing fentanyl and opioid crisis among local teens.
“By preparing schools for overdose, dispensing naloxone, and using a train-the-trainer model, the goal is to create a sustainable, replicable framework for schools to protect students and families from the devastating impact of the evolving opioid crisis,” NYU-Langone said in a statement.
Since 2015, PEP has been brought to more than 350 New York City Public schools and educated more than 15,000 people. Since 2022, it has trained more than 1,000 teachers and school faculty in overdose response, and has distributed Narcan to more than 60 schools.