Resources Mental health and support groups
Alcohol and drugs: help, safety and support
Help in New York for people who want to drink or use less or stop, for people who aren't ready yet, and for their families. Plus what to do in an overdose.
Help comes in different forms: a support line, treatment with a doctor, medicines, harm reduction programs and meetings of people with similar experience.
Information as of November 2026. QARAVAN does not replace a doctor. In an overdose, call 911 right away.
Start here
- If someone doesn't respond and may be overdosing: call 911, give naloxone if you have it, and put them on their side.
- HOPEline is the state's 24/7 addiction line, with staff who speak Russian: 1-877-846-7369 or text HOPENY to 467369.
- Naloxone (Narcan) is free at pharmacies in the City program and 24/7 from City Health Department vending machines. Find the nearest on the NYC Health Map.
Call 911
Get medical help. The state's 911 Good Samaritan Law protects both the caller and the person overdosing from arrest for possessing under 8 ounces (about 227 grams) of drugs, for paraphernalia and for sharing drugs. It does not protect from arrest on an active warrant, for probation or parole violations, or for selling or intent to sell.
Give naloxone if you have it
Naloxone (Narcan) reverses opioids and is safe even if the person hasn't taken any. Spray it into one nostril, or, with an injection kit, inject into the upper arm or thigh.
If the person is not breathing, help them breathe
Give rescue breaths or CPR if you know how.
Wait two minutes
Keep going until the person responds. If they don't respond after two minutes, give a second dose of naloxone.
Lay the person on their side
This way they will not choke if they vomit.
Wait for help to arrive
Stay with them until help arrives.
Call or text HOPEline
The 24/7 line of OASAS, New York State's addiction agency: 1-877-846-7369 or text HOPENY to 467369. A specialist in addiction, mental health and crisis answers; you can ask for someone with lived experience of gambling or substance use. Staff speak English, Spanish, Russian and several other languages, with interpreters for the rest.
Say what kind of help you need
For example: you want to use less, stop completely, or you are worried about someone close. HOPEline will match you with help: prevention, treatment programs, gambling help, support groups, recovery centers, peer support and family help. Services don't depend on your ability to pay; most offer in-person or online options.
Find a treatment program near you
In the OASAS Provider and Program Search, choose "Substance Use Disorder Treatment Programs" and your borough. The counties in the list: Bronx is the Bronx, Kings is Brooklyn, New York is Manhattan, Queens is Queens, Richmond is Staten Island. The NYC 988 Find Services directory also lists programs.
Ask about medication if opioids are the issue
Opioids include heroin, fentanyl, OxyContin and others. Methadone, buprenorphine and long-acting injectable naltrexone lower the risk of fatal overdose, reduce cravings and help lower the risk of blood-borne infections such as HIV and hepatitis C. A doctor prescribes them; many people take them for months, years or for life.
Not ready to stop yet: harm reduction
Harm reduction programs help people who use now, people thinking about recovery, and their families: anonymously and without judgment. They give clean syringes and other supplies, naloxone, test drugs for fentanyl and explain safer use. Don't use alone: if something goes wrong, no one can help. The City Health Department lists the Never Use Alone line: 877-696-1996 (in English).
Find a group
Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and Narcotics Anonymous (NA) meetings bring together people with alcohol or drug problems. Al-Anon is for people affected by someone else's drinking. At a meeting you can talk or just listen.
Keep immigration risks in mind
Under federal law, drug use, even of marijuana, which is legal in New York State, can stand in the way of a green card or citizenship. USCIS looks not only at convictions but also at admissions of use, and the doctor at the immigration medical exam (civil surgeon) assesses whether a person has a drug use disorder. Before you answer such questions at USCIS, in court or at the medical exam, talk to an immigration lawyer. This is no reason to avoid help, and in an overdose call 911 right away anyway.
Naloxone in New York City, November 2026
| Participating pharmacy | Health Department vending machine | Community organization | Store (over the counter) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cost | Free | Free | Free | Usually under $50 for two doses; prices vary |
| Where to look | NYC Health Map: choose "Free Naloxone Kits" and enter your ZIP code | List of machines at nyc.gov/phvm | NYC Health Map: choose "Free Naloxone Kits" and enter your ZIP code | Wherever over-the-counter medicines are sold |
| How to get it | Walk in and ask for a free kit | Enter your ZIP code on the machine's screen | Check the organization's hours on its website | Buy without a prescription |
| When | During pharmacy hours | 24/7 | During the organization's hours | During store hours |
HOPEline
Any status
The 24/7 line of OASAS, the state addiction agency: call or text, and a specialist in addiction, mental health and crisis answers. Staff speak English, Spanish, Russian and several other languages, with interpreters for the rest. Whether or not you can pay.
Never Use Alone Hotline
Any status
A line listed by the City Health Department, so that if you use alone you are not left without help if something goes wrong. The line is in English. If someone is in trouble, call 911 and say "Russian".
NYC 988
Any status
The City crisis line also helps with alcohol and drug problems and with worry about someone close. In Russian, only by phone: say "Russian" and an interpreter joins (text and chat are only in English and Spanish). Open any time.
OASAS Provider and Program Search
Any status
A search for addiction treatment programs on the OASAS website: choose "Substance Use Disorder Treatment Programs" and the county (Kings is Brooklyn, New York is Manhattan, Richmond is Staten Island).
NYC 988 Find Services
Any status
The NYC 988 directory: addiction treatment programs and support groups. If searching on your own is hard, text HOPENY to 467369 and HOPEline will find a program.
Callen-Lorde
Any statusPrice depends on income
A health center for LGBTQ+ people: a counselor helps if you are worried about drugs, alcohol, the internet or gambling, and helps you cut down or stop. Separate services for crystal meth use; naloxone at every site. Fees by income. Book a first visit online in MyChart: callen-lorde.org/register
OnPoint NYC
Any status
A nonprofit with two drop-in centers in Manhattan, in East Harlem and Washington Heights: free hot meals, hygiene supplies, a state-authorized syringe program, counseling and referrals to detox and treatment. Both have Overdose Prevention Centers: trained staff watch over people using their own drugs and step in at the first signs of overdose. Just walk in.
NYC Health Department: Alcohol and Drug Use Services
Any status
Free and low-cost City services for people who use alcohol or drugs: naloxone, drug checking, syringe programs, peer groups, treatment. Many leaflets are in Russian: what to do in an overdose, how to use fentanyl and xylazine test strips (xylazine is an animal sedative increasingly found in opioids).
Alcoholics Anonymous (NY Intergroup)
Any status
If alcohol has become a way of coping, go to Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) meetings. Meetings in Russian: in Brooklyn at St Mark's Church, 2609 East 19th Street (rectory basement, between Avenue Z and Jerome Avenue), Mondays at 7 pm, Wednesdays at 8 pm and Fridays at 8:30 pm; in Manhattan, Russian Speaking AA97 at St. Nicholas Cathedral, 15 East 97th Street (basement), Thursdays at 8 pm. These are closed meetings, for people who want to stop drinking. LGBTQ+ meetings and others are in the online directory.
Narcotics Anonymous (NA)
Any status
Meetings of people helping each other stay off drugs. The website has a search for nearby meetings.
NYC Al-Anon
Any status
Groups for people affected by someone else's drinking: talk or just listen, anonymously and confidentially. Alateen is for teens. The address and hours are those of the Greater NY Al-Anon Family Intergroup office.
- OASAS
- New York State Office of Addiction Services and Supports, the state agency for addiction services.
- Opioids
- Drugs and medicines such as heroin, fentanyl and OxyContin; naloxone reverses an overdose.
- Fentanyl
- A strong synthetic opioid. According to the City Health Department, it is found in heroin and also in cocaine, meth, ketamine and pills from illegal sources.
- Naloxone (Narcan)
- A safe medicine that reverses an opioid overdose; Narcan is the brand name of the spray.
- Xylazine
- An animal sedative increasingly found in opioids; it can cause severe skin wounds.
- Hepatitis C
- A viral liver disease spread through blood; it can be cured with medicine.
- 911 Good Samaritan Law
- A state law: you can call 911 in an overdose without fear of arrest for possessing a small amount of drugs (under 8 ounces). It doesn't protect from arrest on a warrant, for probation or parole violations, or for selling.
- Overdose
- A substance acts too strongly and threatens life. Call 911.
- Harm reduction
- Practical ways to reduce harm from drug use; people are accepted as they are, without judgment.
- Syringe service program
- A place that gives clean syringes and other supplies, counseling, HIV and hepatitis C testing and referrals.
- Overdose prevention center
- A place where people can use their own drugs under the watch of trained staff who step in at signs of overdose.
- Drug checking
- You bring a sample for testing and get the result right away, with advice on safer use.
- Peer
- Someone who has been through addiction or substance problems themselves and helps others.
This is general information, not legal advice: QARAVAN has no lawyers. QARAVAN does not help anyone enter the US and cannot arrange visas, invitations, sponsorship or evacuation. For your own case, talk to a licensed immigration attorney or a representative accredited by the U.S. Department of Justice.
All pages: Mental health and support groups
Sources, checked November 2026
- nyc988.cityofnewyork.us/en/find-services
- callen-lorde.org/register
- callen-lorde.org/behavioral-health
- nyintergroup.org/meetings
- nyc988.cityofnewyork.us/en
- oasas.ny.gov/hopeline
- webapps.oasas.ny.gov/providerDirectory/index.cfm
- nyc.gov/site/doh/health/health-topics/alcohol-and-drug-use.page
- nyc.gov/site/doh/health/health-topics/alcohol-and-drug-use-ser…
- onpointnyc.org/drop-in-centers
- na.org/meetingsearch
- nycalanon.org