Suffolk Officials To Host Substance Abuse Forum In Bellport

BELLPORT, NY — Suffolk officials plan a Substance Use and Harm Reduction Forum in Bellport next week to raise awareness about the use of substances in communities of color, the health department announced Thursday.

It will run Aug. 30 from 5:30 to 8 p.m. at the Boys and Girls Club of Bellport.

The forum, which is open to the public, will begin with opening remarks from Suffolk’s Multicultural Advisory Committee and Kim Livingston of the Boys and Girls Club of Bellport.
Remarks will be followed by the panel discussion moderated by Adesuwa Obasohan Watson, Suffolk County’s Director of Minority Health.

Panelists include Suffolk Health Commissioner Dr. Gregson Pigott, Police Commissioner Rodney Harrison, and Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Odette Hall.

The three will discuss the impact of substances on communities of color, the pathways of substances into communities, engagement of communities of color by agencies receiving opioid settlement funding, and the interaction of law enforcement with people of color who are substance users.

The discussions will be followed by a question and answer period and closing remarks.
County Executive Steve Bellone noted that opioids have had a “devastating impact” on people, families, and communities across the U.S., “and no one is immune.”

“Suffolk worked hard to hold accountable the large companies who fueled the opioid epidemic and bring crucial resources into all of our communities, including communities of color,” he said.

Health Commissioner Dr. Gregson Pigott said that attention to the epidemic in Suffolk "has focused primarily on white suburban communities, but in the past several years black and Latino communities “have been experiencing dramatic increases in opioid misuse and overdose deaths, as well.”

“Our goal is to bring attention and resources to all of Suffolk County, and especially in communities of color,” he said.

The drug overdose death rate among black men in the U.S. more than tripled between 2015 and 2020, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Black men have surpassed white men and are among the demographic groups most likely to die from overdoses, the CDC data shows.