Addiction Angel Organization Empowers Those Struggling With Addiction

The Addiction Angel Organization knows that the heroin epidemic has made its mark all over the country, and one place the mounting rates of death as a result of the heroin epidemic has made plenty of headlines is the state of New York. At one point reports showed that New York experienced more deaths due to heroin overdose than from homicide, while across the country some statics have shown that the overdose death rate has quadrupled in recent years.

Staten Island in New York is among one of the hardest hit communities statewide, with record numbers of overdose deaths resulting from the heroin epidemic.

State officials and law enforcement agencies everywhere are beginning to revolutionize the methods they use to effectively address the heroin epidemic in their areas, with more compassionate programs being initiated with the intention of supporting those who struggle most. As heroin and opiate addiction has become public enemy number one more people are stepping up to try and contribute to the change.

One such person is a nurse in Staten Island who has organized a community group to try and save lives.

Addiction Angel

Alicia Palermo Reddy is a full-time nurse who is dedicated what time she does have off to counseling local families in an attempt to try and make a difference.

According to the Health Department out of the entire city of New York the borough of Staten Island has the highest overdose death rate. With more people in the community being impacted by the devastation of the heroin epidemic, there has been a rise in people trying to develop ways to inspire and inform those in their community.

Alicia Palermo Reddy and her group, The Addiction Angel Organization, hold weekly meetings in an attempt to help addicts and their families to be aware of the dangers of heroin addiction, while making powerful suggestions and impactful statements to try and provide those in need with resources to finding help.

What kind of statements you ask? Well one of these powerful demonstrations came in the form of a local funeral director who came with a list of death certificates… full of names which he read off to the crowd… all of which were individuals who he had recently buried because of heroin.

Alicia also gives advice to families about coping with loved one who are struggling with heroin addiction, and rallies support to try and get those suffering the help they desperately need. Upon searching for more info on her community group I stumbled upon a GoFundMe account where Alicia was listed to be seeking donations to help contribute to addiction treatment for heroin addicts in her area.

Heroin’s Hometown

Back in October of 2014 I remember writing a piece about Staten Island being despairingly dubbed ‘Heroin’s New Hometown’ by The New York Times publication.

Several years before in 2006 New York State introduced the ‘Opioid Prevention Act’ allowing the NYCDOH to distribute 50,000 Naloxone OD kits, and the decision to arm the general public with a first defense against overdose was very much a necessity in the eyes of many residents of Staten Island. At this point in time Staten Island had an overdose rate reach as much as 4 times higher than any other borough in NYC, so of course with more problems came more aggressive measures to combat the heroin epidemic.

Seeing someone like Alicia Palermo Reddy stepping in and taking a stand to help organize families in the fight against heroin addiction and overdose death is always refreshing because it only solidifies the growing support for a compassionate response to the heroin issues in America.

If people in these communities are stepping up to create a conversation in the right direction of course we could see an even greater change, and it seems we are indeed going to witness just that with people like Alicia and her Addiction Angel organization actively asserting themselves into the fight.

While some people are empowering their neighborhoods, we at the Addiction Angel Organization are empowering those struggling with addiction to overcome what stands between them and a new life.