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Schumer announced he will push to secure additional federal funding for Westchester and Rockland. In 2016, overdose deaths in Westchester and Rockland increased by nearly 200 percent.
“The opioid crisis in Westchester and Rockland Counties and throughout New York is a national emergency that’s taken the lives of far too many Americans,” said Schumer. "As budget deal negotiations continue, I will do everything in my power to secure additional grant funds in New York that could help Westchester and Rockland Counties beat back the opioid epidemic."
According to the New York State Department of Health in 2016, there were a total of 143 opioid-related deaths throughout the counties, which was 94 more incidents than 2015. In addition to this, 68 deaths were related to heroin in 2016, and 105 were related to painkillers. Schumer said those numbers could have been higher if not for the increased use of the life-saving antidote, naloxone.
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