Uploaded May 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Funding Will Help Community Organizations Hire 500 Additional Peer Specialists and Expand Outreach Citywide
NEW YORK — Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani today announced a $12 million investment to expand access to life-saving recovery services for New Yorkers at risk of overdose. The funding will support the certification and employment of peer specialists — people with a history of substance-use disorder who help others in recovery — and strengthen direct outreach efforts across the five boroughs. Over four years, the investment is expected to create 500 new peer specialist positions through community-based organizations citywide.
The City will fund recovery centers and peer-led outreach programs operated by Community Health Action of Staten Island, Exponents, Fortune Society, Odyssey House, Phoenix House, Let’s Talk Safety and Samaritan Daytop Village. The funding will support staffing, expand mobile outreach capabilities and strengthen workforce development opportunities for peer specialists.
Peer specialists use their lived experience and professional training to help people access recovery resources, develop coping skills and navigate moments of crisis. Research shows peer-led behavioral health programs can increase engagement in care, strengthen trust and improve recovery outcomes. The investment will also support outreach vans, peer certification training and scholarships, and expand enrollment in recovery services.
The announcement builds on the City’s broader HealthyNYC initiative, which aims to reduce overdose deaths by 25% by 2030 and increase life expectancy for New Yorkers. It also continues the City’s efforts to direct opioid settlement funds to community-based prevention, treatment, harm reduction and recovery programs.
Previous investments have included expanded hours and services at OnPoint NYC, increased access to treatment, enhancements to the Health Department’s nonfatal overdose response program, and supporting harm reduction, and expanded harm reduction and recovery services on Staten Island.
In fiscal year 2025, the City allocated $41 million in opioid settlement funds to support substance use services across City agencies.
Overdose deaths continue to affect communities across New York City, though recent data show significant progress. New provisional data from January through September 2025 show overdose deaths remained stable following a major decline in 2024. The City recorded 2,192 overdose deaths in 2024, down from 3,056 deaths in 2023, marking the first substantial decline in nearly a decade. Rates remain highest among Black and Latino New Yorkers, residents of high-poverty neighborhoods, and adults ages 55 to 64.
New Yorkers seeking mental health or substance use support can call or text 988 at any time to with trained counselors and access confidential referrals to services and resources.
1360 Fulton Street
Brooklyn
May 7, 2026
Funding Will Help Community Organizations Hire 500 Additional Peer Specialists and Expand Outreach Citywide
NEW YORK — Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani today announced a $12 million investment to expand access to life-saving recovery services for New Yorkers at risk of overdose. The funding will support the certification and employment of peer specialists — people with a history of substance-use disorder who help others in recovery — and strengthen direct outreach efforts across the five boroughs. Over four years, the investment is expected to create 500 new peer specialist positions through community-based organizations citywide.
The City will fund recovery centers and peer-led outreach programs operated by Community Health Action of Staten Island, Exponents, Fortune Society, Odyssey House, Phoenix House, Let’s Talk Safety and Samaritan Daytop Village. The funding will support staffing, expand mobile outreach capabilities and strengthen workforce development opportunities for peer specialists.
Peer specialists use their lived experience and professional training to help people access recovery resources, develop coping skills and navigate moments of crisis. Research shows peer-led behavioral health programs can increase engagement in care, strengthen trust and improve recovery outcomes. The investment will also support outreach vans, peer certification training and scholarships, and expand enrollment in recovery services.
The announcement builds on the City’s broader HealthyNYC initiative, which aims to reduce overdose deaths by 25% by 2030 and increase life expectancy for New Yorkers. It also continues the City’s efforts to direct opioid settlement funds to community-based prevention, treatment, harm reduction and recovery programs.
Previous investments have included expanded hours and services at OnPoint NYC, increased access to treatment, enhancements to the Health Department’s nonfatal overdose response program, and supporting harm reduction, and expanded harm reduction and recovery services on Staten Island.
In fiscal year 2025, the City allocated $41 million in opioid settlement funds to support substance use services across City agencies.
Overdose deaths continue to affect communities across New York City, though recent data show significant progress. New provisional data from January through September 2025 show overdose deaths remained stable following a major decline in 2024. The City recorded 2,192 overdose deaths in 2024, down from 3,056 deaths in 2023, marking the first substantial decline in nearly a decade. Rates remain highest among Black and Latino New Yorkers, residents of high-poverty neighborhoods, and adults ages 55 to 64.
New Yorkers seeking mental health or substance use support can call or text 988 at any time to with trained counselors and access confidential referrals to services and resources.
1360 Fulton Street
Brooklyn
May 7, 2026
