The Greater Harlem Coalition’s Response to the Supervised Injection Site’s Partial Data For Their First Year In Harlem
New York’s Nonprofit Media has released some of OnPoint’s data for year one of operation in East Harlem and Washington Heights (November 2021 to 2022):
- 2,147 people have used the injection sites 48,284 times
- Of those 48,284 visits, 633 used either a lethal mixture of, or a sufficient quantity of, illegal drugs to overdose
- All 633 overdosing events were reversed by OnPoint staff
| The Greater Harlem Coalition firmly supports compassionate intervention and the goal of saving lives. We understand those who use OnPoint’s injection site(s) require complex and thoughtful engagement and we support the overarching goals of harm reduction. Unfortunately, however, OnPoint’s Harlem site has repeatedly failed to engage in Community Harm Reduction – a model that approaches addiction treatment holistically within a public health model. Community Harm Reduction not only serves and supports the people who use OnPoint’s services, but it also centers a goal of not harming neighboring businesses, neighbors, children, and families. Community Harm Reduction engages and supports local businesses. Community Harm Reduction works with local businesses to reduce loitering and theft. Community Harm Reduction ensures that children who attend local schools do not repeatedly encounter used syringes, or have to cross the street just to avoid open-air drug sales. Additionally, Community Harm Reduction would engage in approaches that support Harlem residents’ right to be able to get to the train, walk to the park, welcome their family, and enjoy their streets without fear of encountering drug dealers brazenly selling narcotics. The open-air drug dealing on OnPoint’s doorstep that brings dealers and users to our community is unacceptable. We need OnPoint and New York City’s Department of Health to acknowledge that Harlem’s vibrant and diverse community should be protected, strengthened, and not simply dismissed as their program’s unavoidable collateral damage. |
| Click HERE to learn more about The Greater Harlem Coalition’s fight for #FairShare4Harlem |
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