The Seneca Nation of Indians’ “Drug and Alcohol Abuse Task Force” and
 State Senator Cathy Young (R-Olean), as a member of the New York State Senate’s “Joint Task Force on Heroin and Opioid Addiction,” are co-hosting a roundtable to examine the rise in heroin abuse, addiction treatment and prevention, and the potential for drug-related crime and other negative community impacts as a result of the burgeoning heroin and opioid abuse problem in Western New York.

According to Senator Young’s office, it is an historic event because it is the first time state and tribal governments have held an official joint
effort.

The forum will include members of both task forces; law enforcement; treatment providers; local government officials; experts in the fields of education, mental health, and substance abuse; and other stakeholders and individuals from Chautauqua County, Cattaraugus County, the Seneca territories, and the surrounding area who have been directly affected by heroin and opioid abuse.

The State Senate’s Committee on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse has  already has hosted 18 forums across the state. The task force has been formulating legislation and recommendations based on the input received at all of the forums.

The forum begins at 1 p.m. and is being held on the Cattaraugus Indian reservation in Irving.