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In response to the ongoing opioid epidemic, support groups open new drop-in site

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So far this year, there were 462 reported drug overdoses in Monroe County; 68 of them were fatal.

A Rochester-based addiction recovery support group is expanding its efforts to respond to the ongoing opioid crisis.

Recovery Now NY is opening a new, monthly drop-in center in Irondequoit tonight where people struggling with substance abuse and their families can go to get learn about treatment and services.  It’s located at Glad Tidings Church at 1980 Culver Road.

Irondequoit Police Chief Richard Tantalo wanted to follow the lead of the town of Gates, which hosts a drop-in center at its town hall once a week, but there were no appropriate spaces available in municipal buildings.

That’s when Mike Hennessey of the group Churches United Combatting Addiction starting calling local churches to see what they could do.

"People are surprised sometimes because they think, 'Well, should I go to a church because they might scold me for my behavior?' " he said. “If your church is like that, we have to end that. We have to end that perception because churches need to have wide-open arms to folks."

Mike Hennessey says his group is working with Recovery Now to expand even further. Their goal is to have a drop-in center located within 15 minutes of every community in the county.

The four existing locations are in Gates, Webster, East Rochester and Brockport.

"We have a couple others that are coming on line, one in the Geneseo area, which would be the first one in Livingston County for us,” Hennessey said. “There are another couple that we're working on now, so we can create more drop-in centers."

The Irondequoit location, which will be called "Iron Gates" will be open tonight and the fourth Thursday of each month from 6 to 8.

Recovery Now NY says it has placed 150 people in treatment and more than 200 families have connected with support services through its drop-in centers.

Beth Adams joined WXXI as host of Morning Edition in 2012 after a more than two-decade radio career. She was the longtime host of the WHAM Morning News in Rochester. Her career also took her from radio stations in Elmira, New York, to Miami, Florida.