$25,000 Grant to Drug Crisis in Our Backyard

Steve and Susan Salomone have a story that parents across the Hudson Valley have come to relate to: their son Justin died of a heroin overdose in 2012.

As a result of his death, the Salomones, along with the Christensen family of Somers, founded the advocacy group Drug Crisis in Our Backyard. At a press conference yesterday, State Senator Terrence Murphy, who serves as the co-chairman of the Senate’s Task Force on Heroin and Opioid Abuse, announced a $25,000 state grant in an effort to expand the program’s reach throughout the community.

“I have been proud to partner with the families involved in Drug Crisis in Our Backyard since they founded their organization,” Murphy said in a prepared statement. “They have turned their tragedies into a mission and have done a phenomenal job shedding light on the heroin and opioid epidemic that has now been recognized by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as a national concern.”

Earlier this month, Murphy pointed out, it was widely reported that the CDC recognized the ongoing heroin and opioid abuse as a nationwide epidemic. Reports showed heroin overdose deaths in the country increased by 286% between 2002 and 2013. “Statistics are showing us that young people are not starting with heroin,” said Putnam County Executive MaryEllen Odell. “They are getting hooked on prescribed pain killers or are taking pills out of their home medicine cabinets and moving onto heroin.”

The CDC identified a direct correlation between prescription opioid use and heroin. In fact, individuals who are addicted to pain medication such as Vicodin and OxyContin are 40 times more likely to be addicted to heroin because the chemicals are essentially the same.

“Senator Murphy has been an incredible advocate and ally in our mission to raise awareness and provide education to families and individuals struggling with addiction,” said co-founder Steve Salomone. “This grant will aid us in expanding our program to offer additional services to families in need, and more importantly, increase our ability to educate members of our community about the devastating destruction opioid and heroin abuse can have.”

PHOTO/contributed