Picture of Hope – Opioid Addiction Help

Now more than ever, families across the U.S. are struggling with opioid addiction. In 2015, there were 33,901 deaths from opioid overdose – that’s 91 deaths per day in the U.S. The opioid crisis has surpassed guns and car accidents to become the #1 cause of death in America, leading President Trump to declare the epidemic a public health emergency.

Staten Island University Hospital organized a dedicated opioid and heroin addiction hotline, and tasked New York ad agency Fifteen Degrees with creating a PSA to raise awareness and expand treatment for addiction and recovery.

You can see the spot by clicking here.

“The numbers are staggering,” said Rich Clarke, Director of Account Services at Fifteen Degrees. “Patients who are prescribed a week’s worth of painkillers have a 13% chance of continuing to use them for a year or more. And on the flip side, more than 80% of heroin addicts got their start with prescription opioids.”

The Staten Island District Attorney’s Office is taking the advice of Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs and expanding treatment options, offering more centrally located services and increasing media campaigns to raise awareness about opioid addiction on Staten Island.

“As soon as the creative team brought me the idea, I knew we had to produce it,” said Mac McLaurin, Director of Strategy and Creative at Fifteen Degrees. “Opioid addiction is a family issue. This PSA places that terrible problem in the context of family to create something that’s impactful, actionable and familiar.” Fifteen Degrees teamed up with award-winning production company, Quietman, to create the PSA, which was the brainchild of Lauren Wisbeski, copywriter and Fionna Duffy, art director.