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MATTERS Contributing to the Decline in Overdose Deaths

By May 20, 2025No Comments

New York State Governor Kathy Hochul announced the first decline in statewide overdose deaths since before the COVID-19 pandemic and highlighted MATTERS as a key resource in contributing to this success.

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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have announced a 27% nationwide decline in overdose deaths in 2024 compared to 2023. New York State alone experienced a 32% decline, with other states like Michigan, New Hampshire, and West Virginia decreasing by 35% or more. This report follows an announcement from February 2025, where the CDC reported a near 24% nationwide decline in all drug overdose deaths from October 2023 to September 2024.

In a recent press release from the New York State Governor’s Office, MATTERS was mentioned as a contributor to the success in New York: “New York’s MATTERS referral network has contributed to the increase in linkage to care and access to treatments like buprenorphine. MATTERS is a statewide rapid referral network to outpatient services for individuals with opioid use disorder in emergency departments, obstetrician and gynecologist offices, correctional facilities, inpatient units, pre-hospital settings, community-based clinics and peer navigation services.”

The MATTERS model bridges the gap between people with substance use disorder and community-based organizations that provide invaluable services. In addition to connecting people with opioid use disorder to treatment, MATTERS distributes free overdose prevention supplies to individuals and organizations direct mail and vending machines across New York State. These supplies include life-saving naloxone, fentanyl and xylazine drug testing strips, and sterile syringes.

Although the decline in overdose deaths is encouraging news, the opioid overdose epidemic is far from over. In 2024, over 80,000 people died of a drug overdose, and nearly 70% of those deaths involved an opioid (CDC, 2025). Additionally, Nevada and South Dakota saw an increase in overdose deaths. In a recent interview with Newsweek, MATTERS’ Chief Medical Officer provided insight as to why the changes in overdose death rates vary state-to-state: Rural areas traditionally have less access to resources like medication for addiction treatment (MAT) and harm reduction supplies.

MATTERS works in rural, urban, and suburban communities alike to connect people with substance use disorder to life-saving resources. The program has implemented statewide telemedicine services to provide rapid evaluations for MAT and referrals to long-term treatment for opioid use disorder. These telemedicine services are particularly helpful for rural areas; providing resources to underserved communities is an important overdose prevention strategy. MATTERS has recently expanded into Allegheny County, Pennsylvania and is available as a resource for other states to model. Contact the MATTERS team to learn more about our program.

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