Addabbo Recognizes International Overdose Awareness Day and Supports Hochul's Creation of Overdose Prevention Task Force

Senator Joseph P. Addabbo, Jr. said: “Today is International Overdose Awareness Day. Too often, these deaths are preventable. It’s time to erase the stigma associated with drug use and addiction and get people the help that they need. Death should not be the punishment for using drugs. There should be second chances and opportunities for recovery. We need to work together to end this scourge in our society, not by punishing the users, but finding them the services they need in order to recover. These individuals, who we tend to look down upon as junkies or addicts, they are our friends, our neighbors, our family. They are human beings, and they deserve help and hope. I commend Governor Hochul for creating an Interagency Task Force, bringing together experts from state agencies to combat the overdose epidemic in New York State.

In my district, I am hosting a Naloxone training and certification event on Tuesday, October 17, 2023, at 5:30 p.m. at the Shops at Atlas Park, located at 8000 Cooper Avenue in Glendale. I hope many people will come out to the event, so that collectively we can advance the prevention of overdose deaths and work towards saving lives.”