"This is a time to humanize and to empathize": NYC leaders say overdose crisis needs more attention
NEW YORK -- Every four hours someone dies of a drug overdose in New York City.
It's a public health crisis that's preventable and city leaders say needs more attention.
CBS2's Aundrea Cline-Thomas sat down with the health commissioner, who explained the new ways he's combatting this growing problem.
While patrons are having a good time at Friends and Lovers, a performance venue and bar in Brooklyn, manager Lori Sanabria says the staff is on the lookout.
READ MORE: Harlem-based organization trains homeless population to combat overdose deaths
"Any given time, we're filled with about 125 to 150 people," Sanabria said. "Along with the many first aid kits that we have on premises to make sure everyone is safe, we also have the overdose rescue kit."
A Narcan kit, to reverse the effects of a drug overdose, is never far away, and the staff there, and at many bars and clubs across the city, have been trained to use it.
"No judgement. We just want to make sure that everyone that's partying, that's celebrating, being happy here within this space are safe," Sanabria said.
READ MORE: NYC councilman to introduce bill that would provide lifesaving drug Narcan in clubs and bars
New data shows more than 1,200 people in the city died of overdoses in the first six months of 2021, on pace to reach historic levels.
In comparison about 1,400 people died of overdoses in all of 2016.
Most of the deaths involved fentanyl. It's 50-100 times stronger than morphine, and it's being laced in everything.
"People don't know what they're getting and the supply of recreational drugs in our city and frankly around the country is increasingly dangerous," New York City Health Commissioner Dr. Ashwin Vasan said.
Vasan says the controversial overdose prevention centers opened earlier this year, where drug use occurs under supervision, so far prevented 230 fatal overdoses.
READ MORE: NYC's new overdose prevention sites save lives, concern neighbors
The health department is widely distributing Narcan for free. The strategy is harm reduction first, prevention second.
"This is a time to humanize and to empathize, not to stigmatize and to marginalize," Vasan said.
WATCH: How to use Narcan to reverse an overdose
From the isolation of the pandemic to the tainted drug supply, the impact of drug overdoses now has fewer degrees of separation.
Meanwhile, Sanabria says they have never had to use Narcan on any guests.
Narcan kits are available from the health department, in pharmacies and at community organizations for free. They'll soon be available in vending machines.
For more information on where to find Narcan, click here. To read New York City's report on overdose deaths, click here.
