Patricia Strach, deputy director for research at the Rockefeller Institute, and Katie Zuber, assistant director for policy and research, have begun a deep study of the opioid epidemic in New York’s Sullivan County, combining on-the-ground interviews and observation with aggregate data analysis to build a comprehensive understanding of the problem as it exists in many places around the country.
Their work builds on a preliminary report by the Rockefeller Institute about the drug epidemic’s growing toll on communities across New York. Our interactive, county-by-county map is continually updated with the latest Department of Health figures for heroin-related deaths, hospitalizations, and emergency rooms visits.
Strach and Zuber recently discussed their ongoing work with the Kingfisher Project, an opioid awareness campaign, on WJFF’s Making Waves radio program.
“It’s a big problem,” Strach said. “Nobody really knows what works or even really what it looks like. So we decided to go into a community… and to learn more from people on the ground about what the problem looks like and what kinds of solutions would best help it.”
Their findings will be published by the Rockefeller Institute over the coming months.
Listen: