Testimony Submitted by OnPoint NYC to the New York State Opioid Settlement Fund Advisory Board
Testimony Submitted by OnPoint NYC to the
New York State Opioid Settlement Fund Advisory Board
Good morning. As the operator of New York’s two overdose prevention centers, OnPoint NYC thanks the Board for your unwavering support of overdose prevention centers and your advocacy to make them available across the state.
OnPoint NYC works with people who use drugs to support stabilization and wellness by providing an array of resources, tools, and support to enhance the quality of their lives. Grounded in love, our staff offer a continuum of care that respects dignity and promotes healing. Our Wellness Hubs in East Harlem and Washington Heights provide comprehensive wellness services and programs in addition to Overdose Prevention Centers.
New York’s OPCs have now been operating for more than four years, with support across three Mayoral administrations, and in close partnership with the City Health Department. In this time, OnPoint’s OPCs have served over 7,100 people and intervened in over 2,000 overdoses. Our OPCs have been utilized more than 255,000 times, meaning hundreds of thousands of instances of drug use were diverted from public spaces. We estimate our lifesaving services have saved New York City 58 million dollars.
Last year, for the first time since 2018, overdose deaths declined in Black and Brown neighborhoods in northern Manhattan and the Bronx, communities OnPoint serves. We are proud to have our work credited by city officials as a contributing factor in this decline.
And more recently, as part of New York City’s February 6-9 severe weather emergency, and in response to three reported cold-weather related overdose deaths, the city asked OnPoint to expand to 24-hour operations at both of our sites. Throughout the emergency weekend, OnPoint remained open as a warm, medically supported, and safe indoor option—serving 896 New Yorkers, providing sleeping space for approximately 150 people per night, plus meals, showers, warm clothing, and medical care.
Demand was immediate and sustained. Both sites reached capacity each night, with 40–50 people at a time sleeping nightly in East Harlem and 50–60 in Washington Heights, including a notable increase in women participants, who represented roughly 20% of those served and stayed longer than usual. Extended hours of the Overdose Prevention Centers (OPCs) were heavily utilized and strengthened engagement during regular daytime operations, underscoring the need for additional respite capacity, gravity chairs, and overnight accommodations during emergencies.
Over the weekend, OnPoint provided more than 1,000 meals, nearly 700 bathroom utilizations, overnight showers, laundry, warm clothing, and continuous food and beverage service. Outreach and public safety teams actively canvassed surrounding neighborhoods and the Bronx, subway stations, and known hotspots—bringing more than a dozen people indoors on Saturday night alone and coordinating directly with the local 25th precinct to ensure individuals were diverted from ticketing or arrest and brought to safety instead.
The public health impact was clear. One community-based overdose was reversed during hours OnPoint is normally closed—without EMS involvement—and no EMS calls occurred across either site during the extended operations. Across both locations, overdoses and over-amps were safely managed on-site by trained staff in the OPCs, Drop-In Centers, and HUB clinics. Participants repeatedly reported that they would have otherwise used alone or outdoors had OnPoint not been open. Additionally, extended clinical staffing during nights and weekends filled a critical gap in care. Nurses provided wound care, stabilized over-amps, replaced lost medications, and offered low-threshold medical support at times when participants typically have no access to healthcare. The Code Blue response demonstrated that 24-hour, low-threshold services are not just helpful during emergencies—they are essential. This response directly prevented exposure-related harm, overdoses, hospitalizations, arrests, and emergency system strain during extreme conditions.
Because of these strong impacts, the City asked us to serve as an overnight emergency location again during the February 22-23 blizzard and March 1-4 cold and wet weather conditions.
The value of this work is best reflected not only in data, but in the voices of our partners and neighbors.
“At the New York City Health Department, we are unwavering in our commitment to keep New Yorkers healthy and connected to resources, especially while proven harm reduction strategies are under threat. Comprehensive, compassionate, stigma-free care provided by OnPoint promotes recovery and stability. We are grateful for our community partners in the ongoing work to support a healthier city.”
Dr. Michelle Morse, former Acting Commissioner of the NYC Department of Health.
“If a toddler trips and falls, we scoop them up and comfort them… The OnPoint team are the ones who stay when an adult who was once a child… sometimes trips and falls … But too many of us give up on adults who are struggling. I thank my lucky stars every day that we have neighbors who don’t give up on these adults.”
Dr. Eri Noguchi, Associate Executive Director of ABC Education
We must continue building systems of care that support vulnerable communities not only during emergencies, but before crisis strikes and long after immediate danger has passed—because lasting public safety and public health depend on sustained, compassionate engagement.
We thank the Board for your continued support and urge the state to recognize the potential of Overdose Prevention Centers in strengthening low-threshold care for people who use drugs statewide.
