Channeling Grief Into Unwavering Advocacy

In November, Corinne Kaufman lost her beautiful granddaughter Paige Gibbons to an accidental fentanyl overdose just four days after her 19th birthday. According to Paige’s grandmother, Paige and her two friends were not drug addicts. They bought what they thought was Percocet to relax. Paige and one of her friends took a small nibble out of a tablet. Paige died. Her friend endured a prolonged stay in intensive care where she suffered two strokes.

“My granddaughter Paige was all about life!” Kaufman said, “This demon drug knows no boundaries. It is taking people from all walks of life.”

Most of the fentanyl that is being sold in the U.S. is mass-produced in Mexico using chemicals primarily from China before being pressed into pills or mixed with other counterfeit pills made to look like Xanax, Adderall or oxycodone.

Kaufman has channeled some of her grief into launching “Families Against Fentanyl,” which advocates for getting Narcan opiate overdose reversal kits into middle and high school nurses’ offices and making fentanyl test strips readily available.

Nassau County Legislator Delia DeRiggiWhitton (D – Glen Cove and fellow Legislative Minority members Arnold Drucker (D – Plainview) and Debra Mulé

(D – Freeport) introduced Nassau County’s “Families Against Fentanyl” law. The measure, which was first filed in May of 2022, would require Nassau to include fentanyl detecting test strips in every Narcan kit it distributes and for the Department of Mental Health, Chemical Dependency and Developmental Disabilities to make strips available to residents upon request. Unfortunately, the Legislative Majority has not yet called a hearing on the bill.

“This terrible scourge is claiming the lives of far too many people – many of whom are not drug addicts,” Legislator Delia DeRiggi-Whitton said. “We need to keep fentanyl away from our children and out of the country as much as possible, and most certainly do something as simple and inexpensively as making fentanyl test strips available to youths and young adults.”

“Perhaps Paige would still be alive today had fentanyl test strips been available,” Kaufman added. “Something as simple as making fentanyl test strips widely available can save countless lives. I strongly encourage the Legislative Majority to schedule a public hearing and for County Executive Blakeman to join us in supporting this life-saving measure.”

This March, the Nassau County Legislature recognized Corinne as a Women’s History Month Trailblazer for her advocacy work in the fight to prevent fentanyl overdoses and deaths on Long Island.

If you or a loved one are in need of assistance with substance abuse or addiction of any kind, contact the Nassau County Office of Mental Health, Chemical Dependency and Developmental Disabilities Services at 516-227-7057.

—Submitted by the office of Nassau County Legislator Delia DeRiggi-Whitton