In New York City, the prescription painkiller abuse rates aren’t as high as the rest of the country — except on Staten Island, where their impact is wide and deep. The city’s Health Department says three times more people overdose from painkillers there than in the rest of the city. WNYC’s youth media project Radio Rookies decided to take on an investigative reporting project to look at why Staten Island is struggling with prescription drug abuse. Producer Courtney Stein spent several months training then 18-year-old Tasina Berkey in how to interview, write narration, do research, and seek out government data. Their investigative report shows it’s easy for young people on Staten Island to gain access to prescription painkillers and that, combined with a long-time culture of drug and alcohol abuse, has led to the epidemic. After the story aired, the piece was sited in several other news outlets, including The New York Times.
