On Tuesday, representatives from departments across New York state government came together for the first meeting of the Inter-Agency Overdose Prevention Task Force.

The task force was brought together to have a coordinated approach to the overdose epidemic here in the Empire State. Dr. Chinazo Cunningham, commissioner of the New York State Office of Addiction Services and Support, told Capital Tonight that “people with addiction touch many different systems in our state,” and adds every department of the state “needs to be a part of the solution” when it comes to combating addiction.

The task force will be holding five more public meetings until Oct. 15. Dr. James McDonald, New York State health commissioner, encourages people to attend or email in their comments to overdosetaskforce@oasas.ny.gov. McDonald says a coordinated response is similar to the COVID-19 response and the taskforce is open to new ideas.

Despite nationwide attention on the issue of addiction, Dr. Cunningham said that the biggest barrier to treatment for people is the stigma. According to Dr. Cunningham, just 10% to 20% of people dealing with addiction actually seek out services.

Earlier this month, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a temporary pause to bankruptcy hearing for the drug manufacturer Purdue Pharma. Purdue is a part of a settlement with states including New York for their role in the opioid epidemic.

Dr. McDonald said the temporary pause does not affect opioid settlement funds that have already been dispersed but raises the question of what the future will look like.