30 LONGISLANDPRESS.COM • JANUARY 2020
MENTAL ILLNESS
ROOT CAUSE EYED THE
BY TIMOTHY BOLGER
Providing better mental health treatment
to stressed-out Long Islanders
who are self medicating with illicit
drugs is key to combating the deadly
opioid epidemic that continues to grip
the region, experts say.
That was among lead findings of the
Suffolk County Heroin and Opiate
Epidemic Advisory Panel’s recently
released 127-page 2019 report detailing
the latest efforts to stem the
scourge that has claimed more than
3,000 lives on LI in the past decade.
“Not only do we have to address
the addiction issue, we also need to
address mental health,” Legislator
Sarah Anker (D-Mount Sinai), who
chairs the 29-member panel, told
reporters during a Jan. 2 news conference.
“You can’t have one without
the other.”
The issue is a local manifestation of a
national opioid epidemic that ranks
among the deadliest health crises
in U.S. history, claiming more than
70,000 lives nationwide in 2018 alone
— killing more Americans annually
than car crashes and guns.
It’s long been settled that police can’t
arrest their way out of the problem.
Increased awareness and improved
access to treatment have also been
priorities. But it turns out it’s not
just more drug busts, anti-drug campaigns,
and rehab programs that are
needed — it’s more access to mental
health treatment to address the root
causes of addiction, such as depression,
trauma, and grief.
“We have to go further in order to
take a preventative role,” said Legislator
Dr. William Spencer (D-Centerport),
who chairs the legislature’s
health committee. “And that is getting
into people’s lives and understanding
what the genetic predispositions may
be, what the environmental stressors
may be, so that we can do a better job
of preventing and treating addiction.”
Steve Chassman,
executive
direc tor
of the
Long I s l a n d
Coalition on Alcoholism and Drug
Dependence, is among those pressing
for answers as to why heroin and
prescription opioid-based painkillers
continue to entice new users despite
the widely publicized death toll.
“The trillion-dollar question is: Why
are so many adolescents and adults,
so many people in Suffolk County,
across New York State, and across
the country, turning to the most
OPIOID
CRISIS
powerful narcotics for self medication?”
he asked rhetorically. “Could it
be stress? Could it be anxiety? Could
it be not adequate coping skills to deal
with this beautiful thing called life?”
And most importantly: can it be
stopped?
PRESS HEALTH
Prescription pain medications
can be dangerous opioids. (DoD
photo)
NASSAU KNOLLS
CEMETERY & MEMORIAL PARK
Lovely & Quaint
Grounds Open Daily
Open To All Faiths Headstone, Flat Marker & Cremation
Grave Sites and New Mausoleum
Payment Options Available
For Pre-Need
500 Port Washington Blvd., Port Washington
516 944 8530 • www.nassauknollscemetery.org
Do you have a
Special Occasion?
Custom Designs
at Competitive Pricing
for 30 Years
Call for an appointment
917-447-7417
Designs By Shahin
2 locations
766 Madison Avenue
& Roslyn, Long Island
/www.nassauknollscemetery.org
/LONGISLANDPRESS.COM
/www.nassauknollscemetery.org
