Long Island Community Foundation Renews $15,000 Grant to LICADD

December 12, 2011 – The Long Island Community Foundation (LICF), a division of The New York Community Trust, has once again demonstrated its unwavering commitment to the health of our families and communities by renewing a $15,000 grant to The Long Island Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (LICADD). These funds support the ongoing development and growth of People United to Stop Heroin on Long Island (PUSH-LI). PUSH-LI began as a small Facebook group two years ago and has become one of Long Island’s foremost voices advocating for change in the midst of Long Island’s heroin and opiate crisis. The group is facilitated by LICADD and led by parents who have lost children to overdose, parents of addicted children and young people in recovery.

With funding from LICF, LICADD will continue to mobilize this motivated group of advocates, harness their energy and give them the skills, tools, and structures necessary to better advocate and advance effective public policies that promote substance abuse treatment, prevention, and recovery strategies that will improve the health and well-being of all of those affected by addiction on Long Island.

“PUSH-LI engages and empowers parents to become a strong and influential voice for the needs of children struggling with addiction,” said LICADD Executive Director Dr. Jeffrey Reynolds. “With LICF’s help last year, we successfully mobilized families to push for state passage of the 911 Good Samaritan Law, which will help reduce drug overdose fatalities statewide. Now, we’ll build on that success with grassroots efforts aimed at improving substance abuse services for youth, increasing parental rights, reforming insurance regulations to ensure adequate and appropriate treatment options, and strengthening New York’s Prescription Drug Monitoring System.”

Noting an overwhelming increase in grant requests this year, LICF Executive Director David M. Okorn said, “Substance abuse is an escalating and devastating problem on Long Island and LICADD continues to be in the forefront, mobilizing powerful voices like PUSH-LI, who continue to bring about positive change for this serious issue facing our community.” This grant was made possible, in part, by the Greentree Foundation Fund––an unrestricted fund at the Long Island Community Foundation.