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Q&A
Addressing racial inequity in overdose deaths
1:36:46
ยท
169 sec
Council Member Sandy Nurse inquires about DOHMH's strategies to address racial inequity in overdose deaths. Acting Commissioner Michelle Morse and Assistant Commissioner Rebecca Linn-Walton discuss the department's approach to tackling this issue.
- DOHMH has allocated $77 million in the FY 2026 budget for opioid overdose crisis work
- Resources are deployed based on data analysis of communities with highest overdose rates
- Programs like relay teams work with hospitals in affected communities for non-fatal overdose response
Sandy Nurse
1:36:46
I had a question about your testimony and then something later you mentioned, you talked about in the mortality rates, talked about the uptick in the racial inequity around overdose deaths, and I wanted to know a little bit more about where your resources are currently deployed to address this inequity.
1:37:12
What are the tactics and strategies you're using specifically to bring this down?
Michelle Morse
1:37:21
Thank you for that question.
1:37:22
Our team has been looking very closely at the data and where we need to focus so that we no longer see that trend of rising rates of overdose in black and Latino communities.
1:37:36
Our FY twenty six budget, we're expecting to have about $77,000,000 overall dedicated to our opioid overdose crisis work.
1:37:46
And I'm also gonna ask our assistant commissioner to join me at the table to share a little bit more specifics on where we're focusing resources to address the high and increasing overdose rates for black and Latino New Yorkers.
Sandy Nurse
1:38:01
And before you ask that, is that an increase or is that a
Michelle Morse
1:38:04
It's an increase.
1:38:04
Okay.
Lynn Schulman
1:38:09
Do I need to do
Linda Lee
1:38:10
the I'm sorry.
1:38:11
Sorry.
Gale A. Brewer
1:38:15
Oh,
UNKNOWN
1:38:17
wow.
1:38:17
Good morning.
1:38:18
Alright.
1:38:19
Please raise your right hand.
1:38:21
Do you affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth in your testimony before this committee and to respond honestly to council members' questions?
Suchiemi Tai
1:38:27
I do.
UNKNOWN
1:38:28
You may proceed.
1:38:29
Thank you.
Rebecca Linn-Walton
1:38:29
Yeah.
1:38:30
So a lot of our work is actually looking at those communities where we're seeing the highest rates and that's how we both disperse dollars and then more importantly disperse people into communities and work with nonprofits in those communities.
1:38:42
So for a good example I always think of is the relay teams.
1:38:46
So those are our non fatal overdose response in hospitals and so we go very clearly by overdose rates.
1:38:52
And then we work very closely with hospitals in those communities so that they're ready to receive our peers and our other workers who are coming bedside to do response.
1:39:00
So those are some of the ways in which we're doing it.
1:39:03
Also all of our programming really does focus and wherever you see darker blue on the map of more people unfortunately overdosing, we're right there with a number across the whole spectrum from clinical care to harm reduction services working with our HIV programs because we know that there's a crossover with infectious disease and then also prevention through helping people access clean syringes and other services that we know are going to drive down rates and help lives and more importantly help people turn their lives around through services we're providing.
Sandy Nurse
1:39:35
I'm gonna ask some questions about BeHeard, but I want to keep on this track for a second.