Local leadership, Seneca Nation join in call for action
From the Office of Joseph M Giglio,
GOWANDA – Assemblyman Joseph M. Giglio (R-148th District) hosted a roundtable discussion Thursday to address the growing overdose and fentanyl crisis and develop strategies to stop the flow of drugs and protect our community.
Across New York State, overdose deaths rose 351 percent from 2010 to 2021 according to the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Western New York experienced more than 400 overdose deaths in 2023. Dr. Kevin Watkins, Cattaraugus County Public Health Director, said fentanyl, a synthetic opioid, was responsible for 93 percent of those overdose deaths in Cattaraugus County in 2023.
The panel included state Senator George Borrello; Jesse Prieto, Deputy Chief of Staff for Congressman Nick Langworthy; Dr. Kevin Watkins, Cattaraugus County Public Health Director; Dawn Colburn of the Seneca Nation Health Service; Dr. Brian Walters, EMS Medical Director for Cattaraugus County; Ann Domingos, CEO of CASA-Trinity; Michael Prutsman, Chief Development and Engagement Officer for CASA-Trinity; Lt. Nathan Root of the Cattaraugus County Sheriff’s Office and Det. Tanya Ingersoll of the Sheriff’s Office.
Assemblyman Giglio said everyone he knows has either lost a family member or friend to the opioid crisis or knows someone who has.
“A young man who was a friend of my daughter’s died of an overdose in December of 2022. Andrew was only 23 years old. He had his whole life in front of him, a life filled with promise and hope,” Assemblyman Giglio said. “As a father and a grandfather and someone who loves our community, I have to do something. That’s why I called this panel of experts together.”
Andrew was a member of the Deer Clan of the Seneca Nation.
Seneca Nation President Rickey Armstrong Sr. said the opioid crisis and related overdose deaths are “one of the most dangerous and fatal health and social crises facing Native communities today.”
“Statistics show that overdose deaths in Native communities have increased by more than five times over the past two decades,” President Armstrong said. “Those statistics confirm the problem exists. The countless number of funerals taking place in all Native communities, including our own Seneca community, confirms the pain.”
President Armstrong said Native and non-Native communities need to work together to address the threat.
“We have to find ways to protect our people against this growing threat, which has placed a target on Native people and Native communities,” he said. “The pain and loss have to stop, and we need to all work together – Native and non-Native – as neighbors and as one united region and community to find a way to stop this wave of personal devastation and the sick and dangerous individuals who are preying on our people for profit.”
Dr. Watkins said Cattaraugus County recorded a record high 28 opioid deaths in 2023.
“Like hundreds of U.S. Communities, Cattaraugus County is faced with yet another public health epidemic, opioid overdoses,” Dr. Watkins said, noting that the number of opioid overdose deaths rose dramatically during the COVID 19 pandemic.
“A record high 28 opioid deaths in 2023 is extremely alarming. Every stop measure available to us should be thrown at combatting this epidemic,” he said.
Avi Israel, and his wife, Julie, founded Save the Michaels of the World in 2011, to bring attention and awareness of the devastating effects of opioid medications after the death by suicide of their 20 year-old-son Michael David Israel.
Mr. Israel said state government has a role in ensuring access to care for those in crisis, but Albany isn’t addressing the threat with the urgency required.
“Governor Hochul needs to declare a health emergency to ensure that access to treatment is available to anyone who is looking for help,” Mr. Israel said. “Rural New York deserves the same resources that New York City is receiving.”
Mr. Israel said more than 7,000 people across New York died due to opioid addiction in 2023. He said the governor and the New York State Office of Alcohol and Substance Abuse Services need to treat the crisis like the emergency it is.
Dr. Brian Walters, medical director for public safety for the Cattaraugus County Sheriff’s Office and the Cattaraugus County Office of Emergency Services, said in 2023, more than 35 percent of those incarcerated in the county jail received medication-assisted treatment for opioid use disorder.
“Over the last five years we have seen a significant increase in 911 responses related to opioid abuse,” he said. “Naloxone (Narcan), the medication that can reverse opioid overdoses, was traditionally only able to be given by advanced life support providers. Today, it is given by basic EMT’s and law enforcement officers on a regular basis resulting in lives saved.”
Dr. Walters said offering patients comprehensive substance abuse treatment is key to stopping the epidemic. At the jail, incarcerated patients receive rehabilitation services, including medication assisted treatment (MAT), mental health and substance abuse counseling, peer support and linkage to outpatient services in the community.
Echoing Dr. Walters comments, Assemblyman Giglio said the 2018 Drug Take Back Act he supported improved access to naloxone and access to better treatment but the 2019 bail “reforms” passed by the majority in the Assembly and Senate and supported by Gov. Hochul made it harder to keep drug dealers of the streets and get those addicted into treatment.
“Because of the bail reforms pushed by the majority, folks struggling with addiction no longer enter the system where they can be offered help through our drug courts or even in our prisons and jails, as Dr. Walters points out,” Assemblyman Giglio said. “Enabling people to continue taking drugs, leaving them to the abyss of their addictions isn’t compassion. In fact, it’s the exact opposite of compassion and I wish the governor and majority would realize that.”
Assemblyman Giglio said he and his colleagues in the Assembly GOP conference have proposed several bills to address the crisis including:
A.7746, which would direct the Commissioner of the Department of Health to identify, analyze, report and medically combat new or previously unseen opioid compounds found in overdose patients;
A.4146, which would create a long-term rehabilitation alternative for some opioid offenders in lieu of prison;
A.5590, to allow judges to remand justice-involved individuals to drug treatment programs if there is a substantial risk for continued drug abuse and danger of them causing harm to themselves; and
A.5475, which would clearly define intent to sell heroin as the knowing possession of 40 packages or more of heroin or heroin mixtures.
Assemblyman Giglio said Thursday’s meeting is the start of the community conversation about the opioid epidemic, not the end.
“For the sake of our children and our children’s children we need to continue talking about this and work together to find solutions that stop the flow of drugs and provide the help our family, friends and neighbors struggling with addiction need,” Assemblyman Giglio said.
If you or someone you know is struggling with addiction, please visit CASA Trinity at: https://casa-trinity.org/. You can also call the SAMSHA national hotline at: 1-800-662-4357 or contact Assemblyman Giglio’s office at 716-373-7103 to be directed to agencies that can help. All calls are strictly confidential.
Assemblyman Joseph Giglio represents the 148th District, which consists of all of Cattaraugus and Allegany counties and portions of Steuben County as well. For more information, visit Assemblyman Giglio’s Official Website.
