Two years ago, Alicia Busha’s outlook on life was bleak.

“Hopefully, not dead,” she remembered thinking.

But now, she knows firsthand what it's like to battle through the depths of addiction.

“They really help you, if you really want it,” she said.

Busha is talking about the staff at the Addictions Care Center of Albany.

“ACC has definitely gave me another chance to rebuild my life,” she said. “Not only for me, but for my kids.”

Busha shared her story with U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and others Monday as the Capital Region and other parts of New York grappled with a wave of fatal overdoses.

“Schenectady had four fatal overdoses in a single week,” Schumer said.

Albany is also reporting that every month this year, overdose responses have exceeded the three-year average.

Despite the numbers, the senator said the areas are not designated as high-intensity drug trafficking areas.

“This is where the federal government coordinates with local law enforcement to prevent this flow of drugs that is coming to the Capital Region,” Schumer said.

Changing that designation is part of what Schumer is advocating in Washington.

“We’re desperately short of the kinds of facilities we have here,” he said.

The senator also proposes a more than $3 billion investment to bolster prevention, treatment and recovery services like those offered at ACC.

“We seemed to have been making some headway prior to 2020,” said ACC CEO Keith Stack. “But the isolation forced by COVID created real problems.”

Schumer highlighted the issues during other visits across the state Monday, including in Onondaga County, where there were nearly 200 fatal overdoses last year.

“Illicit fentanyl is today’s problem,” Stack said. “And it’s really driving the opioid epidemic.” 

As Busha prepares to take her next step in recovery on Tuesday, she was proof of what can be accomplished when the proper resources are in line.

“I’m a little scared,” she said. “But I’m also happy to get on with my life, with my son and other children.”