The Greater Harlem Coalition will host a Town Hall meeting next week, on Thursday, March 28th, at 7pm at The Greater Calvary Baptist Church: 55 W 124th St, New York, NY 10027 (between Lenox/5th).
This meeting will have representatives from Mount Sinai who are proposing moving their opioid treatment programs from Morningside Heights (near Columbia University and recently constructed luxury housing) to West 124th Street between Lenox and Adam Clayton Powell (a site already overwhelmed by 3 methadone programs, homeless shelters, and HIV/AIDS healthcare facilities).
This shift of opioid programs into our already oversaturated community will allow Mount Sinai to expand their ‘higher end’ medical services such as their Cardiac Care Center in Morningside Heights. At the same time it will continue the red-lining of Harlem and East Harlem as New York’s opioid treatment hub for patients from all 5 boroughs and even the suburbs (note that 75% of the patients attending opioid programs in Harlem commute into our community from outside Harlem).
Mount Sinai is hoping to serve its authorized client load of 800 patients at the 124th St location.
The Greater Harlem Coalition firmly supports and respects the right of people struggling with addiction to get the services they need in the communities where they live. However, the attempt by Mount Sinai to red-line our community as their dumping ground for substance abuse programs is unacceptable. If the opioid crisis is one that affects all Americans regardless of gender, class, race, and geography, why does Mount Sinai always want to site their opioid facilities in low-income communities of color?
We hope to see you at our meeting next Thursday. We hope to hear your thoughts on this issue. And, we hope that Mount Sinai will listen to your voice.