One high school in Long Island will become a drug treatment center. William Floyd High School in Mastic Beach has a population of 3,200 students. The school district has now taken the bold step to get help for its many students who are struggling with drug addiction.
"Parents have been begging us for help. We now have something that we really feel can assist their kids," said Paul Casciano, the school superintendent. "We have students who are substance abusers. They are already here. And we need to help them."
After news of deaths from heroin overdoses on Long Island made the news, came the realization that something had to be done to stem the tide of addiction. At William Floyd High School, 38 students had drug hearings and were subsequently suspended from school.
"We are bringing the services to them so that they have instant access to it. And it doesn’t have to build to a crisis," said Caroline Sullivan of Daytop Adolescent Outreach.
Daytop Adolescent Outreach was chosen to run the program inside William Floyd High School. The program will not cost the school district a penny. The program is confidential and anonymous and is open only to students enrolled in the school district.
Drug treatment advocates are applauding the news of the high school’s drug treatment center.
"There’s a huge increase in heroin use among kids. We are watching more than 350 kids die a year due to overdoses – on Long Island, in Nassau (County) and Suffolk (County)," said Dr. Jeffrey Reynolds, an addiction specialist.
It is the hope that the drug treatment center at William Floyd High School will serve as a model for other drug treatment centers and that other high schools across Long Island will start similar programs in their schools.
