Faithful Responses to the Overdose Crisis: Building Congregations and Communities of Care
graphic courtesy of Nate Williams, www.n8w.com
Monday, February 24, 9:00 am to 5:00 pm
at the Interchurch Center, 475 Riverside Drive
Cosponsored by ICNY and
This conference has now passed — deepest thanks to all our partners, presenters, and participants!
Opioid overdose is both a public health crisis and a crisis of conscience for faith communities throughout the city. The statistics alone are staggering: Every seven hours, another New Yorker dies of a drug overdose – more deaths than result from homicides, suicides, and motor vehicle crashes combined. Opioids, including fentanyl, are involved in more than 80% of these deaths. New York’s diverse religious and civic leaders must work together to put an end to these preventable deaths.
While secular civic institutions and health care systems have developed innovative harm reduction strategies to address opioid use disorder and curb overdose fatalities, faith-based organizations remain a largely untapped force in this essential work. Indeed, many faith communities struggle with a profound sense of stigma around drug use, which may prevent them from recognizing or engaging with the crisis. Drawing on the pathbreaking work of the Harm Reduction Coalition’s Faith in Harm Reduction program, the conference will explore diverse theologies of healing and liberation, as well as concrete steps faith leaders can take to more effectively serve New Yorkers struggling with opioid use disorder. See below for the full day schedule.
Together we will build a multifaith healing justice movement that reshapes the moral narrative on substance use, through education, advocacy, and spiritual care centered on the dignity and divinity of all New Yorkers – including those who use drugs.
We hope you can join us! The conference is open to all religious and civic leaders, as well as health care professionals from all faith backgrounds or none at all. A $30 donation is requested to help pay for meals and conference expenses, but cost should never be a barrier to participation.
Questions? Please contact Hanadi Doleh, ICNY’s Program Associate for Community Partnerships, at hanadi@interfaithcenter.org or 212-870-3547. And click here for directions to the Interchurch Center, at 475 Riverside Drive, between 119th and 120th Streets, in Morningside Heights.
Conference Program:
8:30 – 9:00 Registration and Light Breakfast
9:00 – 9:15 Welcome and Opening Reflections
Rev. Dr. Chloe Breyer, Executive Director, Interfaith Center of New York
Johanne Morne, Director, New York State Department of Health AIDS Institute
9:15 – 9:30 Naming / Memorial Service
A brief service will call to mind the memories and legacies of New Yorkers who have died from drug overdoses, while honoring the dignity and divinity of New Yorkers living with substance use disorders. The service will be led by:
Erica Poellot, Director of Faith and Community Partnerships, Harm Reduction Coalition
9:30 – 10:00 New York City’s Overdose Crisis: What do the Data Say?
An introduction to the history and demographics of substance use and overdose fatalities in New York City. Where are New Yorkers most at risk of opioid overdose? How can we best focus our efforts to end these preventable deaths?
Alexis Posey, Director or Policy, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene
10:00 – 11:00 Keynote Dialogue: Myths and Realities of the “Opioid Crisis”
Leading advocates and policymakers will explore the politics of the “opioid crisis” — a crisis of structural inequality, moral stigma, and racialized drug policy — and discuss harm reduction strategies to address opioid use disorder and curb overdose fatalities. Keynote speakers will be:
Kassandra Frederique, Managing Director of Policy, Advocacy and Campaigns, Drug Policy Alliance
Monique Tula, Executive Director, Harm Reduction Coalition
11:00 – 11:15 Coffee Break
11:15 – 12:45 Panel Discussion: Faith-Based Perspectives on Drug Use and Misuse
Religiously diverse community leaders and service providers will share lessons from their work, and perspectives from their faith traditions. How have they worked to respond to the overdose crisis? What challenges did they face and how did they overcome them? Speakers will include:
Rawaa Nancy Albilal, President and CEO, Arab American Family Support Center
Rev. Dr. Luis Barrios, Holyrood Episcopal Church – Iglesia Santa Cruz
Rabbi David Kushner, Director of Government Relations and Special Projects, Amudim Community Resources
Anya Lukianov, Recovery Dharma NYC and psychotherapist in private practice
12:45 – 2:00 Lunch
Catered lunch for all conference participants — an opportunity to break bread and build relationships with your diverse colleagues. We hope these conversations will lead to enduring friendships and collaborative projects.
2:00 – 3:20 Hands-On Workshops
Small group workshops will allow participants to explore a range of issues in more intimate conversations across faith lines. Each workshop will run once. We will do our best to place all participants in their first choice workshop, but we cannot guarantee placement. Workshop topics will include:
Drug-Related Stigma / Harm Reduction 101
What does stigma look and feel like? How does it prevent people who use drugs from accessing lifesaving services? How can harm reduction strategies create space for non-stigmatizing, empathetic healing? This workshop will explore the principles and practices of harm reduction. Participants will discuss the root causes of drug problems, and the impact of stigma on the lives of people who use drugs. They will learn concrete techniques to reduce the impact of stigma when providing services to people who use drugs. Led by Hiawatha Collins and Jose Martinez, Harm Reduction Coalition.
Overdose and Public Health Policy Advocacy
How can New Yorkers advocate for effective and humane drug policies? Fatal overdose is beginning to go down in New York, and this workshop will explore the advocacy efforts that led NY to be an early adopter of widespread naloxone distribution. But there’s still important work to do, including securing access to buprenorphine. People who use drugs and their allies need to make their voices heard in Albany and City Hall. Led by Daniel Raymond, Harm Reduction Coalition.
Post Overdose Care
This workshop will offer a comprehensive overview of harm reduction support for individuals who have experienced an opioid overdose, including factors that place a person at risk for overdose, strategies for reducing the risk of future overdose, best practices in providing care to a person who has experienced an overdose, and referrals for additional support. Led by Dana Kurzer-Yashin and Nathalia Gibbs, Harm Reduction Coalition.
Pathways to Healing from Substance Use Disorder: An Integrative Harm Reduction Approach
We will explore the hopeful shift from thinking of addiction as a disease to understanding it as a meaningful psychobiosocial experience — a re-humanized view that supports an integrative harm reduction approach to recovery. This treatment extends the reach of help to all who struggle with problematic drug use, as well as the trauma and other psychosocial struggles that typically accompany it. Some specific techniques will be shared that participants can immediately take into their work. Led by Dr. Andrew Tatarsky, Center for Optimal Living.
3:20 – 3:30 Coffee Break
3:30 – 4:15 Naloxone Training with Multifaith Blessing
Conference participants will be trained to administer naloxone (also known by the brand name Narcan), a safe medication that can save someone’s life by reversing the effects of an opioid overdose. The training will be preceded by a multifaith blessing for this life-saving medicine, and followed by a discussion of public health issues surrounding naloxone.
4:15 – 5:00 Reflection and Next Steps – What Can You Do in Your Congregation or Community?
Town hall discussion, and reflection on the day’s conversations. Above all next steps toward action – what will we take back to our congregations and communities from today’s conference? What can we do to support New Yorkers at risk of overdose? Introduced and facilitated by:
Erica Poellot, Director of Faith and Community Partnerships, Harm Reduction Coalition
Dr. Henry Goldschmidt, Director of Programs, Interfaith Center of New York
