Isabel Byon: 0:00

The New York State Office of Addiction Services and Supports or OASAS provides this podcast as a public service. Opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the agency or state. This is Addiction: The Next Step.

Jerry Gretzinger: 0:21

Hello everybody, Jerry Gretzinger here, your host of Addiction: The Next Step, the p odcast, brought to you by the New York State Office of Addiction Services and Supports. And we are back for this episode. We've got a pair of guests. And uh this is sort of a this is the first time we've had this. We have one person who's in-house with us sitting here at the podcast studio, and we have another guest who's sitting in our New York City offices, but we're bringing it all together to really address an important topic for you. And let me tell you who we've got here. We have Edison Alban, you may recognize that name uh because he's the host of our Addiction the Next Step podcast that we provide in Spanish, and that's Edison, tell me if I'm saying it wrong. Addiccion al siguiente pasto. Correcto. Oh, perfecto, perfecto. Uh and then also we're very happy to be able to introduce uh a new member of the OASAS team. Uh she's not joined us on a podcast yet, but this I'm sure will be the first of many. It's Tibby Hernandez. She's our Chief Equity and Inclusion Officer, uh, and she's the one who's joining us from the city today. Hey, Tibby.

Tibby Hernandez: 1:19

Hey, Hi, is everybody, Jerry? How are you?

Jerry Gretzinger: 1:23

We're very happy to have you here. And uh it's it's really uh it's it's a it's a nice um uh you know, uh group that we've got here today, Tibby and Edison, to talk about today's topic. And that is something that's really important and uh certainly uh as important today as it ever was, and that's making sure that we have diversity, equity, inclusion when we're looking at the services that we provide, right? Because we have all different communities around the state of New York who need these services that we're making available, and we want to make sure they have access to them, that they are appropriate for what they need. And these are two people who are helping to get that done. Um so so actually let me let me start with Edison uh just for a moment, because Edison, uh, you know, one thing that I'm excited about is we had this podcast going in English. Uh and then uh you know we felt that we could really reach more people by providing it in Spanish. We've been doing that now, and you said we've got six uh six episodes or so that have currently dropped and more coming, right? Right. So what what has the experience been like for you so far? Uh not just talking to guests, but hearing you know feedback from communities who are downloading this podcast. It does very well. We get a great number of people who are downloading and playing. What what are you what are you hearing from people first about about the fact that we're putting this out there?

Edison Alban: 2:32

Yeah, I'm especially happy about the fact that people are definitely uh saying how great it is to actually hear uh and get information in Spanish uh and actually discuss things that are culturally relevant and that they a lot of them have not heard before. And we when we talk about uh addiction and talk about our uh the culture of addiction and how it affects the Latino community specifically, um people are are really listening in and really uh appreciating the fact that we are uh really focused in on our community and and the topic and in their own language. And so I've been hearing all great positive feedback about it.

Jerry Gretzinger: 3:19

That's good, that's good. I know I've heard some good things as well. Um and as far as your guest, I know your first guest was the commissioner, uh, and uh applause to her. She sat down and did this uh with you in Spanish. Yes. So that was uh that was she wanted to do it and she did it, which is terrific. Um the guest since then and some of the topics you've touched on, like how you talk about you know being uh you know culturally specific things important to that community. What sort of things have you touched on so far?

Edison Alban: 3:44

Right. Um one of the big things that we constantly touch on is the stigma of addiction and what it means to uh uh the addiction community and how we uh sometimes don't uh I we don't speak openly about this. You know, we are you know our community um tends to be very uh uh you know focused on work, on on on on thriving. And a lot of these personal things are kept inside and especially with addiction, it's looked uh uh upon as uh sort of like a weakness. And to actually have these conversations with our my guests that are coming from the clinical work, from uh their their um therapists, their uh uh counselors. And when they speak about you know the the the real you know what addiction really means, that addiction is a disease, that you know the how it affects a person, it really puts it into a different perspective and and really allows uh people to understand what what it means to suffer from addiction. And I think that that's a big uh thing to actually uh um discuss the stigma and actually break through that stigma.

Jerry Gretzinger: 5:04

And you know it's interesting you mentioned that because uh you talk about stigma in the Latino community regarding you know substance use and addiction. Uh it that that seems to be maybe that message that that that applies uh regardless of of what language you speak, right? Because uh obviously it's a it's a concern that we have uh in every community, but to hear that it is something that is certainly a barrier uh in the Latino community as well, uh and talking about it, getting it out there, that's what that's what this is all about, what we're doing. So I'm I'm I'm even more happy that we're doing it now in both English and Spanish. And and Tibby, let me let me kind of bring you into the conversation now. Um, you know, I know we've spoken with you about us doing this podcast, and this is just like, you know, it's just like a tip of the iceberg, if you will, for all that the agency's trying to do to make sure that regardless of what community somebody is a part of, they're able to find the services and the supports, they're able to access them, and that they are relevant to what they need.

Tibby Hernandez: 5:58

Absolutely. I think that for us at OASAS, our goal is to provide culturally competent programming and accessible programs to individuals who, again, may feel like there is a stigma that's associated, obviously, with substance use disorder that we we want to address, but we want to address it in a way that connects, that makes connections with our communities so that they understand that we are out there, we're listening to them, and we're also understanding okay, we want to create solutions for barriers and issues that you're also bringing to us. We're not making this up, we're in collaboration with you as the community and figuring out how we can reach you, how can we make sure that you feel welcome within our programs. And that comes and that exists from us pushing forward our equity focus, which I think our commissioner has consistently pushed, uh, that we're very equity focused and equity-minded. And for me, what that looks like might be a little bit different than what other folks might think about in terms of equity. I see equity as the combination of emotionally intelligent communication, right? You're not gonna know everything about diversity, you're not gonna know everything about every single community. But if you can stay curious, if you can ask questions, if you can be open to not knowing what you don't know, it creates a level of connection with folks because you're listening more than you're speaking. And I think that all of us here at OASAS, that's that's our goal. We want to listen more than we speak, and we want to create culturally appropriate and relevant programming that allows us to continue to assist the most vulnerable within our community. So for me, I I am very, very excited to be a part of the team and kind of bring that perspective because I I don't think that people think about diversity, equity, and inclusion in that way. I think it can be a very overwhelming um topic. And for me, when we just distill it down to its bare bone forms, it's about human connection and about being open to connecting with somebody, regardless of whether your backgrounds are similar or different. It's about making that connection and staying open and making sure that at the center of the conversations, it's assisting and servicing folks, making sure that they're okay.

Jerry Gretzinger: 8:34

Yeah. And I I you pointed out, uh, I make a good point, uh, that very often we want to be able to listen more than we talk. Now, on the podcast, we can't necessarily do that. We listen to each other. Uh, but it is an opportunity for us to share and hope that others are listening and hearing about what's out there and what's available to them. Um, you know, I and I think we'd be remiss if we didn't at least just touch on the fact that it's it is certainly a challenging time right now to be doing any sort of work that that even incorporates the word diversity, equity, or inclusion. But you know, when you boil it down, and and Tibby, tell me your thoughts on this, like like you were just kind of getting at this, this is about making sure, you know, regardless of what words you want to use, it's about making sure that people who reside in the state of New York, regardless of whether they speak this language, that language, believe in this, that, or the other thing, or look this way or that way, that they still have the same level of access and the same level of care as anybody else.

Tibby Hernandez: 9:28

Absolutely. And truly through our programs, I think that that's what New York State continues to be a leader and and you know, kind of a beacon for hope in this work is that we understand that at the end of all of these rhetorics and these conversations that we're having, there are human beings at the center of all of that. And if we can try to put our best empathetic uh foot forward, and I often joke, Jerry, that empathy is the S-class of humanity, it's not built into the base model. Um, and what I mean by that is that it's a skill set, it's a skill set. Not all of us know how to engage in empathetic listening, in empathetic communication or conversation, in empathetic policy development. Let's be honest, right? So I I think that you know OASAS in New York State is is really doing a great job at censoring human beings in this and and and making sure that our fight is to ensure that the the lives of individuals are saved every single day, and we do that at OASAS every single day through our programming. So, you know, we have ATCs that you know have monolingual programs. I I visited Kingsboro ATC, shout out to Kingsboro ATC and Bronx ATC not too long ago. Um, and what I found there were amazing resilient individuals who are really putting themselves in the line of an opioid crisis and a crisis in this country that is that's taking away, that's taking away lives, and and that's the focus for them, right? Some of the other things that are happening kind of get blurred out because when someone's in front of you, that's what you want to focus on. And and I just saw a lot of caring people, a lot of dedicated staff members, and I mean from the janitors to the kitchen staff, all the way to the beautiful directors that are doing this work. I just felt very encouraged to be a part of a network of people who are putting human beings first every single day in everything that they do and walking around and looking at, you know, inspiring affirmation all on every single wall of these locations. Just reminded me why it is that we're fighting and why we're advocating to ensure that access is always available to all our New York State residents here.

Jerry Gretzinger: 12:18

Right. You know, and you talked about the uh the opioid and overdose crisis that we've been talking about for years and they're trying to make some dents in those numbers, and we have. And it makes me think, too, just to remind people that, you know, when we talk about the the deaths that we've we've suffered over the years with the opioid and overdose crisis, those deaths are people of of of every color, of every religion, uh, of every race. And we've seen a reduction in those numbers, and those reductions also represent the same people, the same group of people, the different races, different colors, the different religions. Uh so again, like you said, it's really about making sure that we are doing this for everyone. It's we we're not trying to say it's for one person and not another. It's what we're doing here is for everyone. Um Edison, you know, I as as Tibby was talking there too, it made me remember uh not so long ago, uh and this talks to your your passion about you know what what we have you doing now and what you've been doing, you you actually volunteered with the immigrant project in in New York City to something else with those communities that you were able to assist with.

Edison Alban: 13:18

Yes, and uh as Tibby was saying, you know, Tibby e was saying about you know it's it's about access for everyone and the empathy that comes along with it. Um in the kind of work that I was doing with the immigrant community in New York City, uh was about that. Was about ensuring that everyone that came into the city or into the state um uh was protected, uh was uh helped in you know in whichever way they needed, with their children, with the family, um helping them find housing, uh helping them find work, uh helping them get their um identification, um and and knowing that these people were came here seeking protection, seeking asylum, and they just needed a safe place to be. And it was really great to be working with a group of people, colleagues that um felt the same way as I did, was like these are human beings that are coming here, that are struggling to find and find in New York a place that that is welcoming them and that's helping them. And then and and it was a pleasure to be able to work with them to help these people now to ensure that they they had all the necessary things that they needed for their family.

Jerry Gretzinger: 14:33

Yeah, yeah, yeah. And I think that was a great opportunity for you too, because you know what you do for us in this department and with the podcast to be able to to have an experience like that where you are really working with people who who have terrific needs that go far beyond what the agency provides, you were able to see the need. You were able to see the language barriers and the other barriers that they have to to getting the services and supports that that will make their life better. And I'm sure that that plays into your your everyday work now that you're doing here.

Edison Alban: 15:00

Yeah, absolutely. In the same way with the uh my inspiration to continue doing the the podcast for the uh for the community, uh it's for for the same reason in as you mentioned overdose uh in the numbers. We know that the the numbers are going down, but we also know that in our community, the Latino community, uh the numbers are pretty high. Uh and we need to fight more, put more emphasis on these communities of color. And in in when I do the podcast, I always stress the fact that uh information needs to get out there, education needs to be out there, uh, word of mouth is really important. So all of my guests, you know, they say the same thing is like this is great. I want to, you know, we need to educate the public, we need to let them know that OASAS is here with so many different resources. People I um uh I've heard from people not knowing that we have treatment centers around the state. Um some people don't even know that we have treatment centers for for the youth, for young adults, uh, or for men or or women residents or with children. So we have so many resources that we need to put out, especially because our community lacks the information or doesn't have so many d they don't know where to get the information from. And the beauty of it is that having Spanish-speaking guests, having conversations about this it's very relatable to them. Even the stories that they talk about are relatable to them. So it's really great when you hear a story from somebody you can relate to in any language, right? You make a connection. Sure. And that's the kind of connection that we try to do here with the show.

Jerry Gretzinger: 16:36

Yeah, and I you you touch on that, and that's a great point. I mean, one of the things that we talk about in these podcasts and in your podcast is people who have lived experience. And whether they speak English or they speak Spanish, their stories still still touch other people. They make an impact. And we hope people hear these stories and are encouraged to seek out what's available to them. Tibby one thing Edison just talked about too, he talked about the disproportionate numbers, right, in certain communities, Latino, the black community versus versus the white community, uh, the higher prevalence of substance use or overdose. Um, and obviously something that we we don't ignore, that we really try to address head-on when it comes to saying what kind of services and supports we provide and where we need to make a focus.

Tibby Hernandez: 17:16

Absolutely. And and that data-driven approach is what allows us to have diversity within our programming, depending on what region of the state we're in, right? So when we're thinking about community, we're thinking about doing assessments, preliminary assessments about who's in the communities that we serve, right? That's the first layer of this, is understanding who is there and then figuring out okay, how can we reach those folks? You know, how can we create trust and bridge those gaps? Because we can ignore the historical context of what's happened yet in a lot of these communities, right? So we have to ensure that we're not ignoring that, that we're taking that into account, but that again, when we're going into these communities, that we're saying that up front. And I think that that's where we're trying to do a really intentional job at OASAS is collecting that data, understanding who we are serving, understanding how those populations are changing as well. You know, we have um the Latino community is an extremely young community, right? So uh prevention services become really important as youth because we're such a youthful community in this country. Um, we want to make sure that we're not just uh talking about one part of the continuum of you know of that continuum. We we want to talk about before, even before somebody gets into a place uh where they can uh get a substance use disorder. How what kinds of conversations are we having with the youth? So being intentional about data so that we can diversify our messaging is equity, right? I often talk about the analogy of if a house is on fire, do you send fire trucks to all the houses in the neighborhood or do you send fire trucks to the house that's on fire? Right? And I think we have to start really engaging in those conversations and thinking through well, we're not talking about equality. And there's a distinction there. We're talking about okay, need, right? It's not sameness across the board because everybody has different needs. Um, so making sure that our programs and that our providers are also able to, right, through our support system, um, able to also adapt and pivot as their communities change and become diverse. So I think for us, we're learning and we're growing, and uh, in order to serve humanity, we have to be committed to be lifelong learners. And we have to be committed to be humble and have cultural humility. And that looks like what the answer is today may not be the answer tomorrow. And we have to be amenable to that. And sunset programs, if they're not servicing the community, consistently doing assessments to ensure that the needs of the community are being met. And again, I'm just honored because so many of the folks that I am working with here at OASAS, that's that's their mission. That's how they are doing all of their work. They are being informed by what is actually happening out there. And again, we just want to continue to serve and provide the access to folks, knowing that there are some barriers that exist that may have not been created by us. But if we put ourselves in the mindset of being innovative, potentially can be solved by us in in our future. So, you know, again, data-driven approaches all the way.

Jerry Gretzinger: 21:12

Yeah. Hey, uh, Tibby, um, we're we're gonna move towards uh wrapping up the episode. But before we do that, I want to ask you if there are people out there who are listening to this, um, who may be within one of these communities and are English speaking, obviously, because this is the English speaking podcast. And I'm hoping that Edison will be able to get you on to do something in Spanish at some point or at least get the message out in one of the Spanish episodes. But what what could you say to people who may feel that there there are challenges in front of them to to accessing the services, to to finding out what's available to them because of you know their their native language or their color or where they reside? I mean, how do we encourage them to say, hey, you know what? The the concerns you've got, we hear you uh and and we'll will help.

Tibby Hernandez: 21:56

So, first of all, New York State has legislation, language legislation, language access legislation. So if you are going to any of our ATCs that we have throughout the state, or any of our providers within the state, there are translation services that should be available to you in order to engage in accessing these types of services. So that's that's my biggest, my biggest push that a lot of people may not know is that we are required in New York State to meet you where you are, and that means your language. Um, so we have services that are available to connect you with translators that can help you navigate these types of systems. Um, and I'll also say I'll plug our hope line as well because our hope line really does a great job at kind of being that navigator access. And and you know, we we it's a confidential line. So even if it's not you, um, it it even if you're a family family member of someone, you can call our hope line um and access our hope line and at least start getting preliminary information on some of the resources that are available within your community because they do a fabulous job at making sure that they figure out where are you within New York State and what's available to you, what's around you. So I think that those are two areas, right? If you feel like how you look is going to be a detriment to how you are seen or serviced, you know, the hope line can be a place where you might feel more comfortable starting there and getting access to resources. And if language is a barrier, you know, uh New York State again has legislation that ensures that we provide you access to services in your native language. So I think those are two important key points for people to know.

Jerry Gretzinger: 23:59

Good point to make. And uh we do always make sure to push out that hope line, 8-778- HOPENY. 8-778- HOPE NY. And I know uh Edison always puts that out on the Spanish podcast. And as you said, Tibmy, that is a great starting point. Anybody can call it. It's it's pretty much anonymous there. You know, you just unless you want to start pursuing additional services and supports, nobody needs to know who you are, but the people are there to help. Tibby, thank you so much for sitting down and chatting with us today. This has been great. And Edison, uh obviously we'll be able to hear more from you on the Spanish podcast. I know we've got more to come. Um and uh well, I'm gonna put a plug out for Edison. If you're listening today and you have uh you know folks who you work with, uh who you are aware of, who have a story to share, and they're they're fluent in Spanish. I know Edison, uh I know he would be excited to have them on, so always feel free to send an email out to the OASAS communications team and uh we'll we'll be happy to talk with you to get more of those stories out there. All right. Thank you both, and thanks everybody out there for checking out this episode of Addiction: The Next Step. Until we see you again, I'm Jerry Gretzinger. Be well.