City launches community-wide survey on the impact of the opioid epidemic
Mayor Malik D. Evans today announced the launch of a community-wide survey to examine the impact of opioid epidemic in the city of Rochester—including quality of life, barriers to care, overdose prevention and family impact.
Establishing a strong foundation of data is an important part of the City’s work to combat the public health crisis. Through February 2025, all city residents are encouraged to participate in the anonymous survey, administered by the Rochester Institute of Technology Center for Public Safety Initiatives, online at CityofRochester.gov/OpioidCrisis.
“The growing national opioid epidemic continues to claim lives and devastate neighborhoods here in Rochester. It exacerbates the challenges of violence and poverty in our community and robs our citizens of hope and opportunity,” said Mayor Malik D. Evans. “Together with community and government partners, we’re adopting an all-hands-on-deck approach to developing a comprehensive and sustainable approach to this problem.”
The City has convened an Opioid Steering Committee with representation from Monroe County, public safety departments, city residents, and several community health and human services organizations. The collaboration taps collective wisdom and seeks to centralize local data on the issue, from opioid deaths to community impact.
In addition, the City of Rochester’s Neighborhood Ambassador Program has facilitated community input sessions in partnership with Monroe County on the impact of the opioid epidemic in all quadrants of the city. Two of four community input sessions have already taken place in the city’s Northeast and Southwest quadrants with two more to come next month:
- Northwest Community Input Meeting: 6 to 8 p.m., Tuesday, Jan. 14 at Cameron Community Ministries, 48 Cameron St.
- Southeast Community Input Meeting: 6 to 8 p.m., Tuesday, Jan. 21 at Blessed Sacrament Church, 534 Oxford St.
Insights from the community-wide survey and input sessions will inform collaborative efforts to address the opioid epidemic in the city and will help define the ways the City will spend its allotment of State opioid settlement funds, which by 2025 will total $3.8 million.