Grants helping local organizations fight opioid epidemic

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- According to Albany County leaders, there were 126 overdose deaths in the county in 2023, a heartbreaking number from an epidemic that has touched just about every person in our region.

Albany County was one of the first in the U.S. to launch a lawsuit against big pharmaceutical companies. In May, the county was awarded $2.34 million through community grants to 14 different local agencies that are doing their part to address the opioid epidemic in various ways.

One of those groups was Second Chance Opportunities on Colvin Avenue. The community recovery center is a place for people to find new opportunities through the services and resources provided by trained professional and peer advocates, who have had their own journeys with addiction and recovery.

"That can look like a lot of different things. Some of the biggest things we provide are employment, housing. We just started a transportation program," explained Erica Cecala, the Executive Assistant at Second Chance Opportunities.

But with only one driver and limited resources, the program needed to expand. Rudy Fernandez, a certified peer advocate with the agency, said, "There are many people that have died on the street. They might have had a bed somewhere, but they can't get there because treatment can't provide that transportation."

Second Chance Opportunities received a $175,000 grant from the county. The money was received through the opioid settlement fund. "That allows us to literally double the transportation we are doing. So that's twice as many people we can help."

Dan Whelan, Recovery Center Director for Second Chance Opportunities, said, "When they are in the car, they are in the car with a person in recovery, which is important. You're not in the car with taxi or Uber driver; you're in a car with someone with lived experience."

Someone like Rudy Fernandez, who found Second Chance through his own recovery process. He became a peer advocate for the group. "I share my experience and how I got out of it," Fernandez said.

That perspective and the resources provided are now more crucial than ever. "Right now, there is fentanyl in everything. Now you can use one time and that's it," Cecala added.

But not if Rudy and the entire team at Second Chance can help it. "We could take you to rehab. You want to go, let's go," said Fernandez.

The 13 other agencies who received funding are using the money in different ways. Some organizations are putting it toward housing while others are hiring more staff like peer counselors.