The Southern Tier AIDS program (STAP) has been providing comprehensive HIV/AIDS services to the Southern Tier of New York for over 35 years, among other services. All of STAP’s services are available to clients in Cortland County. STAP recently joined...

What is fentanyl? Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is about 50-100 times as potent as heroin. People use fentanyl because it is cheap to manufacture and a small amount goes a long way. Many individuals consume fentanyl without knowledge...

During the past year, Cortland County has experienced an alarming increase in the opioid overdose rate.  An opioid overdose can happen to anyone consuming opioids for medical or recreational use. However, the pandemic and resulting social isolation have contributed...

Over 2.1 million people in the United States struggle with opioid use disorder and over 120,000 people die each year from overdose. The COVID-19 pandemic has forced many people into isolation, creating a perfect storm of economic insecurity and...

During the past year, Cortland County has experienced an alarming increase in the opioid overdose rate.  An opioid overdose can happen to anyone consuming opioids for medical or recreational use. However, the pandemic and resulting social isolation have contributed...

Pictured above is Karlene Shafer on the left, pointing to her daughter's name on the remembrance tree, and father Dean O'Gorman on the right. In last week’s blog article, Part One: Harm Reduction with Dean and Karlene, we were fortunate...

Healing Cortland was fortunate to speak with Dean O’Gorman and Karlene Shafer, two Cortland County residents who are very passionate about ending the overdose crisis. Both Dean and Karlene have lost a child to an opioid overdose, and are...

Stigma can be defined as negative attitudes and perceptions towards people of a certain social group or with certain behaviors. In particular, those with substance use disorders are often labelled as criminals or lacking morals instead of having a...

Family and Children’s Counseling Services now offers weekly virtual Narcan training sessions. These are free and open to all community members, and upon completing the training you will receive a free Narcan kit.  Training sessions are held on Mondays at...

The holiday season can feel overwhelming for the average American. We sat down with Ashley Dailey, a family support navigator for Prevention Network, to bring you this article. According to Ashley “78% of Americans claim they find the holidays...