Tempo Group is on the offensive against addiction

Long Island is in the grips of an epidemic. Nassau and Suffolk Medical Examiner’s offices have tallied 68 deaths due to opioids as of August for 2017. For nearly 50 years Tempo Group, a non-profit outpatient-counseling center, has been battling substance abuse through supportive therapies and prevention programs.

Tempo’s foundation is in youth services, but the group, which is supported mainly by state and local funding is equipped to either treat most cases or to provide referrals in those cases where they are not. Regardless of the situation, Tempo’s primary focus is designed to give their patients the necessary support systems they need to hopefully overcome their addiction.

“We believe that it’s very difficult to get better unless the family does so too,” said Lisa Sloves, Tempo’s Director of Admissions and one of its licensed social workers. There are three locations: Woodmere, Bellmore/Merrick and Syosset.

Patients under 18 need a parent or guardian to register, but as family situations vary in each case boyfriends and girlfriends, husbands and wives or any other extended family members could be involved. Tempo offers individual and group therapy sessions for both the patient and their loved ones, which does include things like spousal support groups.

“It’s really about who can lend the most support and insight,” said Cindy Wolff, Tempo’s program’s executive director.

Tempo won’t turn anyone away due to an inability to pay. Cost can vary widely with insurance, but Tempo is flexible and has charged people as little as $5 a week for assistance. “We know how important it is to get the services you need,” said Sherri Feldman, Tempo’s chief financial officer.

Feldman said that Tempo doesn’t offer free care because they believe that by charging even minimal fees, they keep their patients invested. It’s easier to quit showing up if you don’t have a financial commitment, she added.

Sloves, Wolff and Feldman all agreed that battling the stigma that surrounds addiction is still one of their program’s most important duties. “We have to stress family education and support,” Wolff said, and “help families get past the stigma.”

Feldman said that “the first reaction is to judge” and there are private schools that have a zero-tolerance policy. She wants families to consider places such as Tempo before sending a teenager or young adult inpatient facilities in places like Florida or Arizona.

Tempo officials believe that addiction and substance abuse are too often seen as character faults or as proof of bad parenting. “It’s a disease,” Wolff said, “we treat it that way, with an abstinence based, medical approach.”

Similar to other diseases, prevention is better than treatment. Tempo hosts education workshops at local schools while also providing Narcan training courses. Narcan is a medication that blocks the effects of opioids, potentially halting an overdose and saving lives. While it’s not a long-term solution it’s increased used has helped curb the number of deaths by opiate overdose.

Tempo is on the frontlines of the issue of substance abuse, but it’s important to them to count every victory they gain. “People are dying, but we’ve seen a lot of people saved as well,” Sloves said. “It’s amazing seeing people bounce back.”

According to the New York State Health Department deaths from opiate overdoses have decreased since 2016, but emergency room visits have increased.

Tempo Group focuses on building support groups around their patients because they understand that this issue cannot be solved single-handedly.

“The epidemic is crazy, not one family, organization or legislator can solve it alone,” Wolff said.