The Greater Harlem Coalition has researched and repeatedly proven the oversaturation of substance use programs in Harlem and East Harlem using data from the agencies responsible. Our neighborhood hosts many more addiction programs than are justified by our population, by our addiction rates, or even by the drug related (overdose) death rate.
Given this, it is logical to ask, “Where then, do the patients who are admitted to New York City addiction programs, come from?
Using a 2020 FOIL request regarding admission data, we have mapped the home addresses of patients who attend NYC’s substance abuse programs. The result is national. Residents of San Diego, Maine, Miami Beach, and even Anchorage Alaska, are admitted to New York addiction programs.
In the following maps, the red dots indicate the home addresses of people who are admitted to New York City’s addiction programs. The larger and darker the red dots, the greater number of admitted patients.
From:
Admissions to NYS OASAS‐certified Chemical Dependence Treatment Programs Located in NYC by Zip Code of Residence, from March 1, 2019 through February 29, 2020: NYS OASAS Data Warehouse, CDS extract of 8/30/2020
To see the live map (you can hover over a dot to learn more), click on this link.