Byrne Hosts Successful Shed the Meds Event in Somers

Posted: October 7, 2021 in Community, Drug Crisis, Health
Pictured From Left to Right: Somers Police Chief Brian Linkletter, Somers Councilman Anthony Cirieco, Somers Supervisor Rick Morrissey, Assemblyman Kevin Byrne, Somers Deputy Supervisor Thomas Garrity, and Somers Councilman Richard Clinchy

Assemblyman Kevin Byrne (R,C,I,SAM,ROS-Mahopac) is pleased to announce the success of his annual Shed the Meds event in Somers on Thursday, Sept. 30 at the Somers Police Department. Byrne partnered with the Somers Police Department, Drug Crisis in Our Backyard Somers Partners in Prevention, and the Somers Town Board. Over 150 pounds of unwanted and expired medications were collected to be safety disposed of by the Somers Police Department.

​“I’d like to extend a special thank you to all of our partners for making this Shed the Meds event such a success,” said Byrne. “For the past few years we have run this program, collecting over 3,000 pounds of expired, unused or unwanted medication. This is important as it prevents improper disposal of medications and, prevents them from ending up in the wrong hands.”

​“I’m just glad we can help the community,” said Brian Linkletter, Somers Chief of Police. “We have our drug box open every day, but these events are very good because they bring in a large quantity at one time.”

​“I’d like to say thank you for doing this event in our local areas,” said Susan Salomone, Drug Crisis in Our Backyard.“So far we have been in Carmel, Yorktown and now in Somers and this is one of the many ways we can reduce overdose deaths in our community and eventually our county.”

Somers Councilman Anthony Cirieco added, “I would like to thank all the partners who organized this event and thank the residents of Somers for safely disposing their unused medication. As the town board representative for Somers Partners in Prevention, I’ve seen firsthand how our community has come together with civic organizations and schools to get the message out about drug awareness and substance abuse.”

​“Thanks goes out to Assemblyman Kevin Byrne for sponsoring the Shed the Meds event at the Somers Police Department station,” said Somers Town Supervisor Rick Morrissey. “Removing unused and outdated medications from your homes is an important action to prevent personal and environmental harm. Keep up the good work.”

Since he was elected, Byrne has supported and held numerous Shed the Meds events throughout Putnam andWestchester counties. He has also successfully advocated for stronger state policies like eliminating required pre-authorization for Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT), passage of the “Drug Take Back Act” (Chap. 120 of 2018) and the creation of a new,special opioid settlement fund to ensure settlement money is properly appropriated for treatment (A.6395-B, Chap.190, 2021). He also continues to push for support for drug treatment courts, increasing the number of days covered for in-patient and out-patient substance use disorder treatment (A.902) and increasing penalties on profit-making drug traffickers whose sales lead to the death of people suffering from addiction (A.6314). 

The Somers Police Department prescription drug disposal unit is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. or by calling 914-232-9622 to arrange a drop off time at the police station.

Pictured From Left to Right: Marsha and Bob Berman – Somers Partners in Prevention, Robert Browser, Assemblyman Kevin Byrne, Susan Salomone – Executive Director and Founder of Drug Crisis in our Backyard, Margaret DiLorenzo, Officer Kim McGuire – Somers PD, Office John McGuire – Somers PD, Chief Brian Linkletter -Somers PD

The above information was previously distributed and made public for immediate release by the Office of Assemblyman Kevin Byrne