Fentanyl, a potent synthetic opioid, is posing a growing threat to communities across the country as overdose deaths continue to rise.
In Rochester, concerns are also rising over fentanyl contamination in street drugs, including marijuana, prompting urgent calls for harm reduction efforts.
Over the weekend, the Father Tracy Advocacy Center hosted a forum at Abraham Lincoln School No. 22 to address these issues. Advocates, first responders, and residents gathered to discuss solutions, including the distribution of fentanyl testing strips and Narcan training to prevent overdoses.
Beatriz LeBron, Executive Director at the Father Tracy Advocacy Center, who is also a Rochester school board member, said the importance of educating the community about drug safety cannot be overstated.
"If there are individuals who buy marijuana up the street, we want them to test it," she said. "This is a starting point for us, certainly not the end. And the goal is to continue to do education as new drugs are introduced."
The forum also focused on barriers to addiction recovery in Rochester. Luis Aponte, a community liaison with the private ambulance service AMR, described the struggles faced by individuals seeking treatment.
"There's people that are helped, that are transported to the hospital, released right back into the community that got them in trouble to begin with," Aponte said. "So, what's happening is the beds aren't available. Either they're too far, they're minimal, or there's time limits on them."
A study supported by the National Institutes of Health found that only 54% of residential addiction treatment facilities nationwide had a bed immediately available, with waitlists averaging 28 days.
Advocates at the forum stressed the importance of harm reduction tools and expanded treatment options to address the growing crisis.
