When the first two officially sanctioned overdose prevention centers (OPCs) in the U.S. opened in New York City in late November 2021, they raised eyebrows and some ire.
Within less than three weeks after opening, they'd already averted at least 59 overdoses and were utilized more than 2,000 times, the New York City Health Department reported at the time.
Now, two years later, a study published this week in JAMA Open Network, confirms the sites continue to save lives and have not led to an increase in crime.
OnPoint NYC, the non-profit that runs both centers — in Washington Heights and East Harlem — reported that at least 1,000 overdoses have been reversed.
The study, co-led by Brown University public health researcher Brandon del Pozo, Ph.D., MPA, tracked reported crime and disorder complaints from January 2019 to December 2022 in the areas surrounding the OPCs and found “no …