Wyoming County is most definitely suffering from a problem with the abuse and addiction to alcohol and drugs. It is taken not only by the abuse of drugs in general, but also with the ever-present opioid epidemic. All this has caused great harm throughout Wyoming County, and continues to do so. But, thankfully, the county has many prevention programs in place to provide tools for those not yet addicted, so they never become addicted. It also has many substance treatment services for those who wish to get help so they can be free from their addiction.
The Substance Abuse Issue in Wyoming County, NY
The whole state of New York is being ravaged by substance abuse and addiction, some areas more than others, and that includes Wyoming County. Between 2015 and 2017, there were 18 drug overdoses that 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 abuse, 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 who goal is to reduce substance abuse 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 which 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 abuse 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 have 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.
