The New York State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services (NYS OASAS) today announced the launch of a new addiction awareness campaign designed to provide educators, coaches and families with information and resources designed to curb addiction amongst the youth population in New York State. The campaign features a public service announcement starring former professional football player Erik Coleman.

“As part of our fight to combat the opioid epidemic in New York, we’re aggressively working to raise awareness about the crisis,” said Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul, Co-Chair of the State Heroin and Opioid Abuse Task Force. “This campaign will provide resources to educators and families to help prevent addiction among young adults across the state. We want to ensure that our youth understand the dangers and risks of opioids, and have the information they need to make informed decisions that can affect their future. In New York, we will not stop fighting to find solutions to end this crisis once and for all.”

“Helping people access the information they need to talk to young people about addiction is crucial to our efforts to fight addiction,” OASAS Commissioner Arlene González-Sánchez said. “This campaign and resources make it easier for individuals to have conversations, and to get the right information, and gives them the knowledge and tools they need to help prevent substance use among young people, as well as help young people in recovery.”

The “You Can be the Difference” series contains information and resources on prevention, treatment, and recovery services. These videos and publications are targeted to community members including family, teachers, coaches, and others who have contact with teens and young adults.

The “You Can be the Difference” campaign includes:

• A public service announcement airing on network TV stations across New York State. The PSA can be viewed here.
• The “You Can be the Difference” video series, which provides information about the relationship between adults and teens/young adults. Individual videos are focused on the role of coaches and educators, family, parents, and the community, and recovery. The videos are available here.
• Publications including the following brochures, each of which is available in English and Spanish:  

These materials are available for download on the publications section of the OASAS website under the brochures section here, or at http://www.combataddiction.ny.gov/get-information.

These outreach publications and campaign support New York State’s focused efforts to fight addiction among youth and young adults in New York State. New York currently funds 15 youth clubhouses across the state, which offer prevention and recovery services for young people suffering from addiction, or at risk of addiction. The state also provides funding to support a youth and young adult statewide recovery network, and provides more than $72 million annually to fund prevention services across the state.

New Yorkers struggling with an addiction, or whose loved ones are struggling, can find help and hope by calling the state’s toll-free, 24-hour, 7-day-a-week HOPEline at 1-877-8-HOPENY (1-877-846-7369) or by texting HOPENY (Short Code 467369). 

Available addiction treatment including crisis/detox, inpatient, community residence, or outpatient care can be found using the NYS OASAS Treatment Availability Dashboard at FindAddictionTreatment.ny.gov or through the NYS OASAS website. Visit CombatAddiction.ny.gov to learn more about the warning signs of addiction, review information on how to get help, and access resources on how to facilitate conversations with loved ones and communities about addiction. For tools to use in talking to a young person about preventing alcohol or drug use, visit the State’s Talk2Prevent website.