Valley Stream is a hot spot for opioid abuse, police say

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Fifty-one people in Valley Stream have overdosed on opioids since January 2017, including five fatalities, Nassau County Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder announced at a news conference on Aug. 1. He also said that 37 were arrested in a raid at the end of July.

The statistics meant that when it comes to opioid abuse, Valley Stream is the seventh-most-active community in Nassau County, Ryder said. Others in-clude Baldwin, East Meadow, Farmingdale, Hicksville, Levittown and Massapequa, which topped the list. They were identified using OD Maps, a program that pinpoints the locations of fatal and nonfatal overdoses.

“If we have three overdoses in a 24-hour period in a one- to two-mile area, we’re getting alerted on our phones to let us know there’s bad heroin out there,” Ryder said.

Nassau County had more than 350 opioid overdoses and 191 deaths in 2016, the last year that complete data was available, according to the state Department of Health. Opioid deaths decreased to 138 in 2017.

To combat the problem, the Nassau County Police Department developed Operation Natalie, named for Natalie Ciappa, a Massapequa teenager who died nearly 10 years ago of a heroin overdose at a party in Seaford.

As part of the program, the police educate the community about the epidemic, increase drug enforcement in the area and revisit residents who have overdosed. Those who are arrested as part of Operation Nathalie appear before a diversion judge, who might refer the opioid abuser to a treatment facility, such as New Horizon Counseling Center — with locations in Valley Stream and Far Rockaway — or Valley Stream-based Friends of Bridge, Inc.

At New Horizon, the patients receive psychiatric evaluations; medications that help counter patients’ cravings; and group, family or individual therapy. Friends of Bridge Inc. is an abstinence-based program that helps patients with mental illnesses and empowers the patients’ friends and relatives to build a strong base for security, as well as educating the public about addiction.

Both Cecily Haramis, the program director at New Horizon’s Valley Stream facility, and Jim Wyler, the clinical director of Friends of Bridge, said that more of their patients were addicted to street drugs, such as heroin or fentanyl, than to prescription medications, such as OxyContin. Wyler noted that this represented a change from previous years, when patients were more likely to be addicted to prescription narcotics.

Wyler added that he believed the change was due to New York’s anti-drug law, the Internet System for Tracking Over-Prescribing Act, or I-STOP. The law, which was passed in 2011, enables doctors to see what their colleagues are prescribing. This prevents patients from “doctor shopping” — getting drugs from different doctors.

No matter which illicit drugs opioid addicts are now using, they appear to be readily available, Wyler said. “I think it’s just like any other illicit drug,” he said. “There’s always a market for it, so there will always be a supply for it.”

At New Horizon, many of the 150 patients were referred to the program by the courts. As a result, Haramis said, she has seen how Operation Natalie helps opioid abusers. “I think the system is actually working, because the people are coming in, and they’re coming in for treatment,” she said. “They’re coming in to the programs, and they have to be there and get the help they need.”

Ryder agreed with Haramis, adding that since the program began last year, the Police Department has seen a 30 percent decrease in fatal overdoses, including an 11 percent decline in heroin overdoses — the largest decrease the police department has seen in past five years.

“This program, Operation Natalie, is making a difference, and it’s going to continue making a difference as we go forward,” Ryder said.

The Police Department will work with the Village of Valley Stream and Nassau County Legislator C. William Gaylor’s office to monitor Valley Stream’s improvement as part of the program. After 60 days, Ryder said he would return to report on the program’s progress.

Mayor Ed Fare said that he was proud to work with the NCPD, and was “committed to keeping the pressure on those

who bring drugs and crime into our community.”

Gaylor, a Republican from Lynbrook, whose district includes part of Valley Stream, said that his Community Council would keep him and Ryder informed about opioids in the area. Other residents can reach out to his office or to the Police Department, at (800) 244-TIPS, if they see any drug activity.

“If you see something, say something,” Gaylor said.

The Police Department will also hold a community meeting about Operation Natalie on Aug. 9 at 7 p.m. at the Valley Stream Fire Department on Brooklyn Avenue. On Sept. 25, the Police Department will teach students at Hofstra University about opioid abuse.