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Welcoming People Who Use Drugs Into Compassionate Care
Photograph with a yellow overlay of Sam Rivera who is welcoming people who use drugs into compassionate care

Winner

Sam Rivera

Welcoming People Who Use Drugs Into Compassionate Care
Photograph with a yellow overlay of Sam Rivera who is welcoming people who use drugs into compassionate care

Website

onpointnyc.org

Year

2023

Organization

On Point NYC

Sector

Health

Borough

Manhattan

Neighborhood

East Harlem

Sam, raised on the Lower East Side, leads OnPoint NYC, the first legally recognized U.S. overdose prevention center.

Inspired by his upbringing on the Lower East Side during the height of the crack epidemic and his mom’s work as a nurse, Sam has dedicated his life to helping people reduce self harm. He learned early on what it meant to care for others: relentlessly…
Read winner story

Publication

TIME Magazine

The 100 Most Influential People of 2023: Sam Rivera

By Beth Macy
April 13, 2023
In 2021, roughly 108,000 Americans died of drug overdoses. And yet only a slim fraction—roughly 11%—of people with opioid use disorder (OUD) managed to access evidence-based care in 2020. If we were being graded, that’s an F…
Image of Sam Rivera in his office

Update from winner

Harm Reduction TikTok
@carlaxmarieeSeptember 10, 2023
In the words of Sam Rivera, harm reduction is not radical, it’s righteous.

If you’re a New Yorker who has a bold idea that would make NYC a better and brighter place, definitely check out the David Prize! @The David Prize
“[Sam] embodies the essential virtues of New York: second chances, resilience, charm, humor, and inspiration.⁠”
Adam Gopnik
American writer and essayist

Publication

New York Times

Do Safe Injection Sites Increase Crime? There’s Finally an Answer.

By Maia Szalavitz
Over 100,000 Americans now die from drug overdoses annually. To combat this crisis in New York City and save lives, Mayor Bill de Blasio decided to support an initiative rife with controversy: In November 2021, his government…
Respite area where folks using the OPC can get free massages.
The train stop near Sam's OPC
The subway stop near the East Harlem OPC.

Podcast

Vital City

The leader of OnPoint overdose prevention centers explains their harm-reduction approach.
By Vital City
December 13, 2023
The leader of OnPoint overdose prevention centers explains their harm-reduction approach…

Publication

Johns Hopkins

Leading with Compassion: A Conversation with Sam Rivera

By Johns Hopkins
November 9, 2023
Sam Rivera, the executive director of OnPoint NYC, manages two overdose prevention centers--the first to open in the country in 2021--where skilled and trained professionals monitor drug consumption on-site to make sure users…
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