Next General Club Meeting:
Thurs. Mar. 5, 2020 at 7:30 pm

Young Israel of Holliswood – Holliswood Jewish Center
86-25 Francis Lewis Blvd., Holliswood, NY 11427

Special Open Public Meeting

COMBATING THE OPIOID ADDICTION & OVERDOSE EPIDEMIC IN AMERICA

Nearly 70,000 people die from drug overdoses in America every year, 70% involving opioids. Many 1000’s more go unreported. We will hear from the experts on the front lines of the battle against the growing opioid epidemic in America.

Michael Gray

A one-man army fighting the opioid scourge in America.  Two years ago, Michael lost his beloved daughter, Amanda accidentally to a lethal dose of Fentanyl, and he founded the Actus Foundation, to seek solutions for the opioid crisis in America, including federal legislation to stop China’s importation of deadly Fentanyl into the U.S.

Lt. Sean Walker

Operations Coordinator for the NYPD Behavioral Health Division which manages the Department’s protocols and response dealing with mental health issues and opioid and dangerous drug overdoses. One of the main initiatives is RxStat, a collaboration of over 35 city, state, and federal agencies who meet regularly at 1 Police Plaza to confront the opioid crisis.  

We will be joined by several Republican candidates seeking the nomination for US Congress in NY Distirct 14 to run against AOC!

Additional speakers to be announced

Refreshments will be served. QVGOP Gift Shop will be open!

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Biogrpahical Information on Michael Gray

Michael Gray is the CEO of Actus Analytical which develops spectroscopy solutions for public safety compliance with federal/state regulations. Nancy Gray has spent her adult life dedicated to the loving care of her family.

The Grays are the parents of Declan Gray, 22, and Amanda Gray, who was killed by an overdose of straight Fentanyl on January 11, 2018 at the age of 24. The Gray family battled with acute mental illness throughout Amanda’s life, and substance abuse in the last 2 years before her passing.

Michael and his wife Nancy are advocates for solutions to treating the entirety of the overdose epidemic problem in America, including the largely forgotten constituency of intermittent users. Most notable are the acutely mentally-ill, who abuse opioids or other drugs (prescription and non-prescription) to the point of addiction and death in their search for symptom relief from tragically under-treated diseases. The introduction of Fentanyl into the supply stream means all aspects of illicit drug use must be considered to save lives, since any single instance of illicit opioid use may lead to death. The time to see the threat as related only to addicts is long past. Michael is a popular speaker, offering unique analyses and suggestions for creative solutions to a new problem, i.e., an old problem with a recently altered paradigm. Michael walks participants through the murky world of the drug problem clarifying the threat and dispelling myths.
The Grays also advocate for the mentally-ill, striving to deliver the message that mental illness is a disease the entire family suffers, and suffers quite alone, as there are no well-worn paths to solutions available to those in chronic states of mental illness. For all our success in medical science – treatment, patient care and advocacy – our nation has left behavioral medicine in the stone age. Our practice of psychiatric care – diagnostic, treatment and patient advocacy – is the ugly step-child hidden in the attic as the country proudly displays her medical science wonders to the world.

In addition to advocacy, Michael Gray is offering his 30 years of professional expertise in the world of scientific instrumentation as another element of his work on behalf of the victims of overdose. As the Interdict Law and other legislative activity considers nascent technological advances in the ability to detect illicit drugs at the street level, Michael Gray adds his professional expertise to that debate. With experience in the areas of Infrared Spectroscopy and Mass Spectrometry, Michael will be participating in the deployment of portable testing for narcotics at the field level as a means of confirming suspected illegal substances, in a manner which protects the safety of First Responders.

THE ACTUS FOUNDATION: SEEKING SOLUTIONS TO THE OPIOID CRISIS

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Biogrpahical Information on Lt. Sean Walker

Lieutenant Sean Walker has over 26 years of public safety experience in Law Enforcement, Emergency Management, EMS, and 911 Communications. He has been with the New York City Police Department for the past 15 years, and is currently assigned as the Operations Coordinator for the Behavioral Health Division which manages the Department’s protocols and response in areas such as homelessness, behavioral and mental health issues, and opioid and dangerous drug overdoses. Lieutenant Walker has previously held assignments in the Communications Division, the Office of the Deputy Commissioner for Collaborative Policing, the Housing Bureau, the Internal Affairs Bureau, and the 28th and 42nd Precincts. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice from Aspen University.

Lt. Sean M. Walker
Office of the Chief of Department
Behavioral Health Unit
1 Police Plaza

One of the main initiatives that Lt. Walker will discuss is RxStat.  It is a collaboration of over 35 city, state, and federal agencies who meet regularly at 1 Police Plaza and identify gaps in response to the opioid crisis, and then work together and share information and resources in an effort to improve policies, programs and responses.  A few helpful links about this initiative are here:

Bureau of Justice Assistance’s Comprehensive Opioid Abuse Program (COAP) link on NYC’s RxStat Initiative:  https://www.coapresources.org/Focus/MultisystemPartnerships

NYC.gov link which gives some history and perspective on how RxStat began: https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/home/downloads/pdf/press-releases/2013/rx_stat_september_2013_report.pdf