During the recent Nassau County Legislature’s annual Women’s History Month Trailblazers ceremony at the Theodore Roosevelt Executive & Legislative Building Nassau County Legislator Delia DeRiggi-Whitton (D – Glen Cove) led the Minority Caucus in saluting Glen Cove resident Corinne Kaufman for her relentless advocacy in the fight to prevent fentanyl overdoses on Long Island.
Corinne and her family have first-hand knowledge of the devastation that is wrought by this deadly drug on a daily basis. Her granddaughter, Paige Gibbons, died on Nov. 20, 2022 – just four days after her 19th birthday – after she consumed a small piece of what she thought was a Percocet pill at a sleepover with friends. It turned out to be entirely fentanyl, and she died later that night.
In the aftermath of Paige’s tragic and sudden death, Kaufman has launched the Families Against Fentanyl campaign and is advocating for Narcan kits to be available in every middle and high school nurse’s office on Long Island. She is also urging Nassau County to distribute fentanyl test strips by bundling them with Narcan kits and distributing them directly to all who seek them; she furthermore wants to increase awareness about fentanyl through campaigns in public schools and by asking the media to regularly publish fentanyl overdose death statistics.
“Four months ago, Corinne lost her beautiful granddaughter Paige to the scourge of fentanyl. Sometimes life puts you in a place that you never would have imagined, but what you’re doing in Paige’s memory is making such a difference,” Legislator DeRiggi-Whitton told Kaufman during the ceremony. “I know the worst feeling for a mom or a grandma is not being able to do anything, but you are doing something extremely powerful.”
Kaufman was recognized alongside Majority Caucus honoree Louise Kobs, a beloved crossing guard who recently retired after 41 years of dedicated service to the Levittown School District.