PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Dr. Susan Margaret Murphy, President of Drug Intervention Institute, on Substance Use and Mental Health Crisis Response
5:53:56
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178 sec
Dr. Susan Margaret Murphy, President of the Drug Intervention Institute, testified about the intersection of substance use disorders and mental health crises, emphasizing the need for increased access to naloxone in public spaces. She highlighted the success of the "one box emergency naloxone kit" program and its potential implementation in New York City.
- Emphasized the recent decrease in overdose deaths nationally, with New York showing a 14% decline
- Discussed the disproportionate impact of overdose on black and Latino communities, the unhoused, veterans, and young people in New York City
- Proposed placing emergency naloxone kits in public spaces, similar to AEDs and fire extinguishers, to create a community of bystanders and reduce stigma around overdose response
Dr. Susan Margaret Murphy
5:53:56
Hello, and thank you for having me.
5:53:59
I'm the president of the Nonprofit Drug And Intervention Institute in West Virginia, and I'm honored to join you today.
5:54:06
And while I recognize that I'm joining you from Huntington, West Virginia Please know that I was born in New York and raised in Detroit, and I spent most of my summers as a child visiting New York with family.
5:54:16
So I'm very honored to be able to speak to you today.
5:54:20
What you've been doing with the BEHARD program and your focus on safety in schools is is a really great conversation, and it could potentially be a model for other cities throughout the country.
5:54:33
Last week, the CDC reported that we had a decrease in overdose deaths in our country by 10%.
5:54:42
Many states are dropping well below that average, including New York, which declined by almost 14%.
5:54:48
But I would argue that this is not a time for us to rest on our laurels.
5:54:52
As I shared with you today, you were talking about be heard, and you were talking about safety in schools.
5:54:59
And then I've heard a lot of the folks that I've testified also say that mental health and substance use disorder off and go hand in hand, and we certainly see this in New York as other cities around the country.
5:55:10
And we're also losing an entire generation of children.
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We lose 22 students, an entire classroom of students, each week to overdose death.
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And in New York City, overdose continues to disproportionately impact black and Latinos, the unhouse, the veteran population, and young persons.
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One intervention that is clearly helping is increasing the locks and education and access naloxone must be made available in public spaces, including shelters, transportation hubs, schools, bars, and restaurants, and music venues.
5:55:41
Communities across the country are deploying the one box emergency naloxone kit next to AEDs and fire extinguishers.
5:55:49
These boxes provide on demand video training in both English and Spanish so that anyone can respond to an opioid emergency.
5:55:58
To date, our organization has distributed over 13
Yusef Salaam
5:56:01
The time has expired.
Linda Lee
5:56:04
Okay.
5:56:04
If you could wrap up in a couple sentences?
Tiffany Cabán
5:56:07
Sure can.
5:56:08
To date,
Dr. Susan Margaret Murphy
5:56:08
we have distributed over 13,000 boxes in all fifty states with reports of over 200 live saved.
5:56:14
We have municipalities like Nashville and Tampa that work with local law enforcement, community organizations, and crisis response teams to place these boxes.
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These cities are using OD maps to determine where best to place them The goal essentially is to create a community of bystanders and eliminate stigma around overdose response.
5:56:34
We would welcome the opportunity to discuss how to place these boxes in New York City as part of your coordinated response and connect you with communities that are using the boxes.
5:56:44
No.
5:56:44
It's probably not permissible, but I do have a box with me today, and I'm happy to include a link to how to see how to use that in my testimony.
5:56:53
Thank you.
