New York City is home to more than 8 million people, and tens of thousands of them are fighting a battle with substance use disorder at any given time. According to the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, more New Yorkers die of drug overdoses than homicides, suicides and motor vehicle crashes combined. In 2022, the city recorded 3,026 overdose deaths, and fentanyl was involved in more than 76% of them. Behind every number is a person, a family and a community that deserves access to real help.
The scale of addiction in New York City reflects the complexity of life here: the pressures, the pace, the economic divides and the unique challenges facing communities across all five boroughs. Whether you’re in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens or Staten Island, substance use does not discriminate by zip code. Neither does the need for compassionate, accessible treatment.
This guide provides a directory of national and local resources for New York City residents who are struggling with drug or alcohol addiction, as well as their families. If you need to talk to someone now, the National Rehab Hotline is available 24-7. Call (866) 210-1303 for free, confidential support.
National Mental Health and Addiction Resources
These national organizations and hotlines serve New York City residents and can provide immediate support, treatment referrals and crisis intervention regardless of your location within the city.
- National Rehab Hotline
The National Rehab Hotline connects callers to substance use treatment resources, provides information about addiction and recovery and offers compassionate guidance for individuals and families. The service is free, confidential and available 24-7. Call (866) 210-1303. - SAMHSA National Helpline
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) operates a free, confidential 24-7 treatment referral and information service for individuals and families facing mental health and substance use disorders. It’s available in English and Spanish. Call (800) 662-4357. - 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline
The 988 Lifeline provides free and confidential support for people in emotional distress or suicidal crisis. Trained counselors are available 24-7 by call or text. Dial or text 988. New York City also has a dedicated NYC Well line. Call or text (888) 692-9355. - Crisis Text Line
For those who prefer to communicate by text, the Crisis Text Line connects individuals with trained crisis counselors 24-7. Text HOME to 741741. - SMART Recovery
SMART Recovery offers free, science-based support groups for people managing addictive behaviors, with meetings available in person throughout NYC and online. Visit smartrecovery.org to find a meeting near you. - Narcotics Anonymous
NA holds meetings throughout all five boroughs of New York City. Meetings are free, peer-led and open to anyone struggling with drug addiction. Find a meeting at na.org or call the NYC NA hotline at (212) 929-6262. - Alcoholics Anonymous — New York Intergroup
AA’s New York Intergroup coordinates thousands of meetings across the five boroughs and offers them in multiple languages. Call the NYC AA hotline at (212) 647-1680 or visit nyintergroup.org.
New York City Resources
New York City has one of the most robust public behavioral health systems in the country, with a range of city-funded, nonprofit and community-based programs serving residents across all five boroughs.
- NYC Well
NYC Well is New York City’s free, confidential mental health and substance use support line, operated by the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. Counselors are available 24-7 and can connect callers to same-day and next-day mental health and substance use services anywhere in the city. Call or text (888) 692-9355 or chat at nyc988.cityofnewyork.us. - NYC Health + Hospitals — Behavioral Health
NYC Health + Hospitals is the largest public health system in the United States, operating 11 acute care hospitals and dozens of community health centers across all five boroughs. Its behavioral health division provides integrated mental health and substance use disorder treatment on a sliding-scale basis. For appointments, call (844) NYC-4NYC ((844) 692-4692) or visit nychealthandhospitals.org. - OASAS — New York State Office of Addiction Services and Supports
OASAS oversees a statewide network of more than 1,700 prevention, treatment and recovery programs, including hundreds of licensed facilities in the New York City metro area. The OASAS Hope Line connects callers to local services. Call (877) 846-7369. It’s available 24-7. You can also text HOPENY to 467369. - Bellevue Hospital Center — Chemical Dependency Unit
Bellevue Hospital, part of NYC Health + Hospitals, offers inpatient and outpatient substance use disorder treatment through its Chemical Dependency Unit, including medically supervised detox. It’s located in Manhattan at 462 First Avenue, New York, NY 10016. Call (212) 562-4141. - Bronx-Lebanon Hospital Center — Addiction Psychiatry
Serving the Bronx community, Bronx-Lebanon provides inpatient detox and outpatient addiction treatment services integrated with psychiatric care. Call (718) 590-1800 for information about behavioral health services. - Brooklyn Community Services (BCS)
- BCS offers substance use counseling, outpatient treatment and recovery support services for Brooklyn residents. Programs are income-sensitive and designed to serve underserved communities. Visit wearebcs.org or call (718) 310-5600.
- Realization Center
The Realization Center is a New York City-based outpatient addiction treatment facility offering individual counseling, group therapy and medication-assisted treatment (MAT) for alcohol and opioid use disorders. It has locations in Midtown Manhattan and Union Square. Call (212) 243-7171 or visit realizationcenternyc.com/. - Samaritan Daytop Village
Samaritan Daytop Village is one of New York’s largest nonprofit human services organizations, providing residential and outpatient substance use treatment, mental health services and housing support across multiple NYC locations. Call (888) 726-4357 or visit samaritandaytop.org. - Project Renewal
Project Renewal provides integrated substance use, mental health and housing services for New York City’s most vulnerable residents, including those experiencing homelessness. Call (212) 620-0340 or visit projectrenewal.org. - Harlem United
Harlem United provides substance use and mental health services to underserved communities in upper Manhattan and the Bronx, including harm reduction programs, outpatient treatment and HIV-related care. Call (212) 803-2850 or visit harlemunited.org. - BOOM!Health (Bronx)
BOOM!Health is a Bronx-based harm reduction and health services organization offering syringe exchange, overdose prevention education, naloxone distribution and linkage to treatment for people who use drugs. Call (718) 292-7718 or visit boomhealth.org. - New York Harm Reduction Educators (NYHRE)
NYHRE provides harm reduction services in East Harlem and the South Bronx, including syringe exchange, overdose prevention, naloxone training and connections to treatment. Call (212) 410-6318 or visit nyhre.org.
Overdose Deaths
For years, overdose deaths in New York City climbed with few interruptions. The picture has shifted recently, with the most significant improvement on record reported in 2024. According to the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH), there were 2,192 overdose deaths in New York City in 2024, which was a 28% decrease from 3,056 deaths in 2023 and the largest single-year decline in nearly a decade. The city’s Special Narcotics Prosecutor describes this as the most encouraging news after years of daunting increases.
Despite that progress, 2,192 deaths in a single year represent an enormous and ongoing toll. The DOHMH notes that racial and geographic inequities remain significant: Black and Latino New Yorkers saw a 29% reduction in overdose deaths in 2024, yet continued to die at roughly twice the rate of their white counterparts.
The Bronx continues to have the highest overdose death rate of any borough, more than double that of Manhattan, with neighborhoods like Hunts Point-Mott Haven, Highbridge-Morrisania and Crotona-Tremont carrying a disproportionate share of the burden.
The Fentanyl Factor
Illicit fentanyl remains the dominant driver of overdose deaths in New York City. According to the NYC Special Narcotics Prosecutor’s Office, fentanyl was involved in 73% of all overdose deaths in the city in 2024, down from 80% in 2023. Fentanyl is approximately 50 times more potent than heroin and is frequently mixed into other drug supplies, including cocaine, methamphetamine and counterfeit pills, without the user’s knowledge, making every use a potentially fatal gamble.
A compounding concern is xylazine, a veterinary sedative increasingly found in the city’s drug supply. Per the NYC DOHMH, xylazine was present in 21% of overdose deaths in 2024. Because xylazine isn’t an opioid, standard overdose reversal medications like naloxone are less effective against it, creating new and serious challenges for first responders and harm reduction programs.
Substance Use Disorder Statewide
The scope of addiction extends well beyond overdose deaths. According to the New York State Office of Addiction Services and Supports (OASAS), citing data from the 2021 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), an estimated 2.8 million New Yorkers aged 12 and older had a substance use disorder in the past year. That figure encompasses alcohol use disorder, opioid use disorder and dependence on a wide range of other substances, and it reflects only those whose use meets clinical diagnostic thresholds, not the broader population who’s struggling with problematic use.
Progress and What’s Still at Stake
New York City has made meaningful investments in reversing these trends. Since January 2023, the NYC DOHMH has distributed more than 440,000 naloxone kits and 63,000 fentanyl test kits citywide. The city’s Relay program, an emergency department-based nonfatal overdose response initiative, served nearly 10,000 individuals between 2017 and 2023, many of whom had no prior connection to treatment or harm reduction services. According to the NYC Mayor’s Office, the city has committed to $50 million in annual funding for opioid prevention and treatment services going forward.
At the statewide level, provisional CDC data cited by Healthbeat show overdose deaths in New York State dropped 32% in 2024, from an estimated 6,688 deaths in 2023 to 4,567, with approximately 77% of those deaths involving an opioid like fentanyl or heroin. Experts caution that this progress, while real, remains fragile, particularly amid uncertainty around federal funding for behavioral health services.
When you’re ready to take the next step, help is just a phone call away. Call the National Rehab Hotline at (866) 210-1303. It’s available 24-7. You don’t have to face this alone.