Bronx Opioid Collective leaders outline harm-reduction reach, adapt to xylazine surge

Kyrie Moody interviewed leaders of the Bronx Opioid Collective about how neighborhood groups are responding to rising overdose rates in the borough.

Ariane Saxton, senior project manager with the Bronx Opioid Collective, said the effort began in 2017 in Mott Haven and has grown from six–nine organizations to more than 20. "We unified strategy by listening to organizational leaders, boots on the ground, and clients," Saxton said. She cited proximity and collaboration as key to the collective’s expansion.

Saxton and Melissa Nieves, director of outreach and integration at La Casa de Salud, told the program that the collective has distributed "700,000 plus" harm-reduction supplies and made "a thousand plus" referrals to services. "I think it represents decreasing stigma and saving lives," Saxton said, adding that the supplies and referral work help people and their families learn about resources.

Nieves described outreach as individualized, with teams "tabling" and building rapport in high-need Bronx neighborhoods. She said many member organizations hold regular outreach events: "We do tabling every single Tuesday and in front of 4 514 Willis Avenue," she said, listing local partners including Samaritan Village and On Point.

Both guests described peer outreach workers as central to operations. "Our peer workers ... they're literally the heartbeat of what we do," Saxton said. Peer workers, they said, can enter nontraditional settings and connect people to wound care, naloxone training, drug-checking information and follow-up services.

The guests also described how the changing drug supply is changing the collective’s response. Saxton and Nieves said the presence of xylazine — a non-opioid sedative increasingly found in the local supply — complicates overdose treatment because naloxone does not reverse sedatives. "Narcan isn't going to actually impact it because it's not an opioid," Saxton said, so the collective has prioritized wound care, oxygen availability and faster communications from drug-checking programs when new substances are detected.

Saxton credited local organizational leadership and elected partners for the collective’s start, saying it began with Acacia Network leadership and a collaboration with Council Member Rafael Salamanca. Looking ahead, Saxton said the collective hopes to expand harm-reduction kit distribution and develop a hybrid model to provide more holistic services.

For families seeking help, Nieves said people can reach member organizations through their websites or at outreach tables; the guests encouraged residents to visit bronxopiacollective.org for more information.

The segment closed with both leaders emphasizing harm reduction, peer-led outreach and rapid adaptation to changing drug trends as the primary tools to reduce overdose deaths in the Bronx.