The Substance Use Issue in Wyoming County, NY
The whole state of New York is being ravaged by substance use and addiction, some areas more than others, and that includes Wyoming County. Between 2015 and 2017, 18 drug overdoses resulted in death in the county. This is higher than the overall range of the state of New York, which was at 17. In addition to the general problem of substance use, there is a more specific issue; the opioid epidemic. It has caused so much harm in the county and still does even now. Just in 2018, there were 13 emergency department visits for an opioid overdose and 5 deaths caused by opioid overdoses, both per 100 000 population.
Partners for Prevention for Wyoming County, New York
Partners for Prevention is a coalition whose goal is to reduce substance use among the youth of Wyoming County. They have several prevention programs to help fight against this issue, most of them are school-based. First, they have Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD), whose objective is to bring youth to confront the risks and pressures that they may encounter in their lives, including substance use or abuse. Another one is Too Good for Drugs, which is a program taught between kindergarten up to 12th grade, and it consists of lessons that helps the students make better decisions and tools to not give in to peer pressure, etc. Then, there is Project Towards No Tobacco Use (TNT) and it is offered to 5th graders. With this program, students learn the consequences of using tobacco, as well as basic communication skills. In addition, there is the Second Step program, which provides help in schools to teach students how to navigate the different pitfalls they may deal with, including bullying, substance use and peer pressure, yet again to help them make good life decisions. And finally, there is Class Action, which is a program that consists in dividing students into different "legal teams" and having to find and present a hypothetical legal case where an individual was harmed or injured due to underage drinking. This is a good way to teach them what the consequences of underage drinking can be. In addition to all this, they also provide the community with training on how to administer NARCAN, which is used commonly for reversing overdoses, so they can help save lives.
What's Next?
After completing a drug rehab in Wyoming County, the next step is arranging aftercare support in the county or city. The most common aftercare options are outpatient therapy, sober coaching, recovery meetings, or sober living homes. However, no one solution is suitable for everyone. The benefit of some of the aftercare support programs in Wyoming County, services are tailored to meet individual needs. The goal is to take every step to achieve lifelong sobriety.
