With national drug overdose deaths surpassing 100,000 annually, the issue of overdose has never been more important. In 2021, here in Cortland County, our community experienced the highest number of overdose deaths ever reported.   Join HEALING CORTLAND and documentary photographer...

This year is the 20th anniversary of International Overdose Awareness Day. With over half a million people dying as a result of drug use annually, it has never been more important. Here in Cortland County, we have felt this...

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...

During the Spring 2021 semester, SUNY Cortland students in Professor Kelechi Ibe-Lamberts' Community Health class were provided the opportunity to work with organizations on campus and in the community. Three of these students, Jasmilka Pena, Treasa Kozakiewicz, and Leighann...

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...

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...

The words we use often become patterns. Sometimes these words can be unintentionally stigmatizing or hurtful. Medical professionals and public health experts now recognize addiction as a chronic brain disease, and not simply a matter of personal choice or...