Sixty people got trained in the use of Naloxone (Narcan) the antidote to overdose, at the Third Annual Free Pizza Day at Station Pizza in Stony Brook on November 3. The event was in memory of Alex Sutton, who died of a heroin/fentanyl overdose on April 8, 2018. That year he was one of nearly 600 people on Long Island whose death was caused by a fatal overdose.
Alex’s mother, Carole Trottere, hosted the event at her son’s favorite pizza place, Station Pizza, located at 1099 N. Country Road in Stony Brook to mark what would have been his 37th birthday. Station Pizza co-owners Kenneth Asher and Thomas Catanese sponsored free pizza and drinks to everyone who received the Narcan training, which was conducted by Suffolk County Police Department (SCPD) Emergency Medical Service Officer Jason Byron, who works closely with the SCPD’s Behavioral Health Unit. Assisting with the Narcan training were Suffolk County Police Officer Jesse Levy; and Sgt. Christopher Ingoglia, Officer Gina Lauricella and Police Officer Bridget Topping of the Behavioral Health Unit.
Many students from Stony Brook University came to Station Pizza to get their free Narcan kit and slice of pizza.
In addition, Trottere also had memorial rocks available for people to decorate with the name of anyone lost to the opioid/fentanyl epidemic. Called the Purple Rock Project, the finished rocks are placed around parks and other locations, including Gabriel's Giving Tree Memorial & Recovery Garden at Suffolk County Environmental Center at the Scully Estate, 550 South Bay Avenue in Islip, as a reminder of how many Long Islanders have died from O.D. and fentanyl poisonings.
“Every death from overdose affects so many people…parents, grandparents, siblings, friends, and colleagues. It’s like a spider web of grief for those left behind,” she said. “Fentanyl is the deadliest drug to ever hit the streets and is responsible for nearly 70% of nationwide drug deaths. I am so grateful to Station Pizza and the Suffolk County Police Department for allowing me to honor Alex’s birthday in a positive way.”
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