Last week New York City's Queensboro correctional Facility began a program to give soon to be released prisoners training in overdose recognition and response. This includes access to a potentially life saving drug, naloxone which cam counteract opiates in the body. Recently released prisoners are exceptionally vulnerable to opiate overdoses as after long periods of abstinence doses that were previously just pleasurable become potentially fatal. On February 5th the first training session was held, with inmates sharing stories about the risks of overdose including those of the friends and family they have lost.
This new program backed by the Harm Reduction Coalition and organization that promotes what it say are "common sense" means to reduce the harm from drug use. Similar initiatives have exited in San Francisco and Rhode Island as part of their DOPE (Drug Overdose Prevention and Education Project). Currently they are partnered with New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene The program while a "pilot" it is less to determine if such a program should be done but rather to find out how such a program can be most effective.
A press release by Dr. Carl Koenigsmann, Deputy Commissioner and Chief Medical Officer at the Division of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) states that "{the}DOCCS is committed to maintaining the health and safety of those in our custody and helping those leaving our custody help themselves and others. This project, in conjunction with New York State Department of Health and the Harm Reduction Coalition, will enable us to reach people who desperately need help."
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