Mobile Overdose Response Van Launches in the Bronx

The Center for Justice Innovation is transforming the way it responds to overdose prevention in the Bronx, with a van that brings services directly to those in need.

On Sept. 26, center staff and other community members came together to unveil the new mobile outreach bus — a resource designed to target areas of high drug use, or hotspots. Inside the van are snacks, toiletries, testing strips, sterile syringes, comfortable seating to connect with staff and naloxone. 

Naloxone, also known as Narcan, is a nasal-spray medication that blocks the effects of opioids on the brain, rapidly reversing an overdose.   

At least once a week, the bus will visit about 20 hotspots across the borough, often found in parks. The other six days, it will be stationed near precincts with high drug arrest rates, including the 52nd Precinct, which parts of patrols Kingsbridge Heights.

Bronx Community Solutions, BCS, a program at the center, launched Bronx Heroine Overdose Prevention and Education, HOPE, in 2019 to better address substance use issues in the borough. 

Bronx HOPE connects with people who have been arrested for drug possession, through the NYPD or the Bronx District Attorney’s Office, and offers rehabilitation and other services in place of jail time. 

People who are given a desk appearance ticket — a notice to appear in court later for a low-level drug charge — are eligible for HOPE’s services. Participants get a naloxone kit, overdose prevention education and training, as well as meet with a staff member who has personal experience with drug use, known as a peer. A case manager is also provided if the person wants to pursue further recovery. 

“We are part of this alternative to incarceration world, but we also are a bridge between the legal system and the community,” Magaly Melendez, BCS program manager, told The Press. “We wanted to humanize what happens at arrests, what happens when you’re in moments of crisis.”

While treatment is always offered, the program focuses on harm reduction. If a client is not ready to stop using altogether, HOPE aims to lessen the negative effects of drug use. 

“What we’re saying is, ‘You matter as a human being,’” Melendez said. “‘Even though this is your choice to do that, you have value … and we just don’t want you to die. If you want to stop, we got you … But if you don’t, here are the things you can do to stay alive.’” 

The bus provides a private space where staff can ask a client intimate questions about their usage without being overheard, while offering clothes, food and other necessities. It also expands access to those who may not have a cellphone to call a hotline, or a MetroCard to visit on-site. 

With the van parked outside of precincts, response can now be immediate. 

“Instead of having the NYPD wait for us to get there, we’re right outside,” said Arlene Machado, a BCS case manager. “Let’s get this person service right now. This person needs to go to the emergency room … or this person is in active withdrawal — we can help.” 

State Sen. Gustavo Rivera gave $100,000 toward the project and said the ongoing opioid crisis proves criminalization is not an effective solution. 

“People who use drugs are people first,” he told The Press. “The idea that we treat drug addiction as a moral failing or a crime, not only is it wrong, but it has legitimately failed in solving the problem.”

According to the NYC Department of Health, 858 Bronx residents died from overdose in 2023. Overall deaths in the city remained stable, at 3,046 people, compared to years prior, but loss was highest amongst Bronx residents, Black and Latino people, and those ages 55 to 64. 

Fentanyl, a synthetic opioid that is 30 to 50 times stronger than heroin, was present in 80 percent of overall 2023 deaths, and continues to drive the opioid crisis. It is cheap, potent, and sometimes mixed with other drugs without the user knowing. 

An opioid overdose occurs when a high amount or combination of drugs overwhelms the body. It disrupts the brain’s ability to regulate breathing, eventually stopping the heart. 

“I know what it’s like for them,” said Lamarr Hazel, a BCS peer. “I know what it’s like to be locked up and nobody cares about you. But they have this — somebody cares.”

To reach Bronx HOPE for services, call (917) 324-6077.