Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney got an up-close look at what's being done to help people battle the opioid epidemic that continues to grip the Hudson Valley.

Maloney got hands-on training on how to administer the anti-overdose drug Narcan at St. Christopher's Inn, an opioid treatment center in Garrison

"You can save a life. This is it. It's a simple little packet with a nasal spray. If you come across someone who is overdosing, you can save their life,” he says.

The congressman also heard firsthand accounts from residents struggling to overcome an opioid addiction and about how the help they are getting has turned their lives around. Maloney says he himself has relatives who have struggled with opioid addiction.

Maloney's visit to St. Christopher's Inn comes just as President Donald Trump is getting set this week to declare the opioid epidemic a national emergency. Maloney says Congress plays a crucial role in staying on top of the crisis.

"We have to be careful in health care reform not to knock the legs out of programs like this, by whacking the Medicaid funding that actually pays for this treatment,” says Maloney.

Officials say that the treatments at St. Christopher's Inn work because it is an outpatient facility that feels like an inpatient program.