Dorothy Sanchez, who identified herself as the mother of a man who died of an overdose, told the Sullivan County Health and Human Services Committee that the county’s dominant addiction treatment model keeps people “managed in addiction” rather than getting them free from dependency.

"I'm here today because my son is dead," Sanchez said. She argued that medication‑assisted treatment (MAT) — the state‑funded, dominant model used in New York — substitutes one opioid for another and, in practice, prioritizes stability over abstinence.

Sanchez proposed what she called “Jonathan’s Legacy,” a package of policy changes that would expand long‑term, drug‑free residential recovery options, require informed‑consent protections so people are told that MAT is not the only path to recovery, and recognize faith‑based long‑term recovery homes as legitimate, funded alternatives to MAT.

Why it matters: Committee members and several public commenters framed Sanchez’s remarks against a spike in local overdoses and a perceived mismatch between lives saved by Narcan and long‑term recovery outcomes. County officials said they cannot unilaterally change many matters because oversight of treatment standards, provider licensure and civil‑liberties thresholds rests at the state level, but they pledged to carry Sanchez’s concerns forward.

John (county official) told the committee that much of Sanchez’s agenda falls within state authority and that the county should press state agencies for change. "A lot of what Dorothy is talking about are state level authorities," he said, and urged advocacy to OASAS and state lawmakers. He and other officials agreed to draft a local resolution to support the proposal’s objectives and to try to avoid unintended consequences for existing programs.

Public comment at the meeting amplified the call for more long‑term, abstinence‑focused options. Multiple residents who identified themselves as family members of people who died or continue to struggle with addiction described years of revolving‑door care, and several speakers credited faith‑based residential programs and peer supports with durable recoveries. One resident described detoxing off a high methadone dose and entering a 12‑step program; another, a physician who said she left conventional practice, said the system often funnels patients into maintenance because real inpatient or long‑term alternatives are scarce.

County staff and task‑force leaders described actions already under way: a lived‑experience advisory group has been formed, the Drug Task Force is reviewing its current contracts and opioid‑settlement spending, and some local inpatient bed capacity is expected to return to the county through new providers. Department staff said Villa Veritas (inpatient provider discussed at the meeting) expects to open a residential program that may provide about 47 residential beds and six detox beds, with program lengths of six to 12 months. The county will release a new RFP for drug‑treatment contracts in early spring and said it will evaluate current program outcomes and spending prior to that procurement.

Officials repeatedly cautioned that some proposals — including mandated involuntary treatment after repeated overdoses — raise civil‑liberties and legal issues that state law governs. "At what point do you say that this person is not acting rationally, and needs help?" one official asked, noting recent state adjustments to mental‑health law but saying further change would need Albany’s action.

The committee’s next steps: the chair and staff agreed to work with Sanchez on a resolution from this body that would endorse the aims of Jonathan’s Legacy while avoiding harmful side effects on other programs. Committee members asked that the resolution be ready by the next meeting for the legislature’s consideration.

Votes at a glance: At the meeting’s end the committee moved resolutions 1–6 as a block and approved them by voice vote; no opposing votes were recorded on the motion to adopt the block.

The meeting combined emotional public testimony with administrative updates; committee members and staff framed the matter as both a local policy and an advocacy task — to press state agencies for regulatory change while expanding county‑level supports and treatment options.