As opioid deaths take their toll across Albany, Schenectady and Rensselaer Counties, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer's plan to beef up addiction services and fight the flow of drugs into the Capital Region has taken a key step.
Schumer has been seeking federal help to counter a new wave of overdose deaths. The Democrat announced that the Office of National Drug Control Policy has heeded his call and granted Schenectady County’s request to be designated as a High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area.
City Council President Marion Porterfield, also a Democrat, says Schenectady and the Capital Region present an abundance of opportunities for drug trafficking.
"Schenectady, along with other areas in the in the Tri Cities, became a place that was for high drug trafficking, because of its proximity to the highway, you can pretty much get on and off you know, very easily," said Porterfield. "So I think that that's one of the reasons why people, you know, chose this as an area that they would use for that. And even from once you get into the Capital Region, it's easy to get to other smaller towns and places like that."
Schumer addressed the issue during a rally with local advocates in June at the Addictions Care Center of Albany, promising to use his clout to get funding flowing to the Capital Region.
"We've seen two years of record setting years of opioid deaths," said Schumer. "In 2020, there were 165 fentanyl deaths. That's the last year we have data, there are only 120 were recorded in the region between January and September of 2021. So obviously, it's higher. And that means 300 deaths in the last two years. That means just about every other day. Often a young person dies of opioids, here, and that's their loss. It's a loss of our society because they're not in it anymore, and they could be producing and helping, but it's also a loss to their families and their friends and it leaves a hole in the world."
Democratic Michelle Ostrelich, who is also running for state Senate in the new 44th district, chairs Schenectady County Legislature’s Health, Housing and Human Services Committee.
"You know, we've seen an uptick in opioid deaths and this loss of life is absolutely tragic," Ostrelich said. "We will have more resources, equipment, technology, intelligence, all of the things that those folks need to make sure that there are preventing loss of life and getting those drug sales out of our streets out of our neighborhoods.
Schenectady County District Attorney Bob Carney :
"The amount of money that we were suggesting we should apply for which is $100,000 will allow us to at least bring on a crime analyst working at the Capital District Regional Crime Analysis Center, who will be dedicated to trafficking patterns and crime issues in Schenectady County," Carney said. "Beyond that, money could be used for public health purposes. We'll know more about it when we get a formal grant, which won't come until August, but also HIDTA debt designation opens the door for Schenectady County to make application for other federal resources and other areas such as addiction control and treatment."
Schumer says in a statement the new funding will strengthen treatment access in Schenectady County by facilitating critical partnerships between public health agencies and law enforcement, and grants can be used to purchase critical equipment like Naloxone kits for first responders to mitigate the number of overdoses and prevent deaths.
