The Mayor's Office for Economic Opportunity311Search all NYC.gov websites
Health
NYC Opportunity recognizes the link between poverty and health, and has implemented targeted solutions to address health disparities, such as access to healthy food, gun violence prevention, and improving reproductive healthcare.
NYC Opportunity health programs tackle these challenges through a diverse range of initiatives. To promote access to healthy food, NYC Opportunity created the Office of the Food Policy Coordinator in the Mayor's Office, as well as the Shop Healthy outreach program that supports corner stores and food distributors in providing and promoting more healthy food options. To reduce gun violence in targeted communities, NYC Opportunity and the Young Men's Initiative incubated New York City's Cure Violence program, an evidence-based public health strategy that intervenes directly to stop the cycle of violence, which has since been expanded as part of the NYC Crisis Management System. To improve young people's access to health, NYC Opportunity programs have worked to make the New York City public hospital system more teen-friendly and to bring primary care and reproductive healthcare services to public high schools. Each of these initiatives has unique metrics established to track fidelity to the program models and impact on the target communities.
Programs
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Current Portfolio
Academy for Community Behavioral Health
The Academy for Community Behavioral Health (the Academy) at the CUNY School of Professional Studies (CUNY SPS) builds the capacity of community-based organizations, City/State agencies, and other social service providers to proactively address behavioral health. Every day, these providers encounter a range of behavioral health issues and have important opportunities to deliver care. The Academy offers free learning programs that equip social service providers with skills to deliver compassionate and effective behavioral health support, along with tools to manage the emotional demands of their work. The Academy also applies participatory methods to co-design and pilot new care approaches, uplift healing wisdom in communities, and expand our knowledge about what works.
To learn more, visit the Academy website.
Adolescent Health Program - YMI
The Adolescent Health Program (AHP), formerly Teen Health Improvement, is a systems change effort to make the City's public hospitals system (Health and Hospitals (H+H)) more responsive to the needs of adolescents by improving provider, clinical, and billing practices and improving outreach efforts to adolescents. In alignment with these goals, the program trains H+H staff in adolescent health issues and strategies, works closely with H+H School Based Health Clinics, and engages young people in improving H+H service quality and accessibility.
To learn more about Adolescent Health Program, visit the YMI website.
Shop Healthy
Shop Healthy NYC is a New York City Department of Health (DOHMH) initiative that aims to increase access to healthy food while engaging community members to support sustainable food retail change in their neighborhoods. Shop Healthy NYC takes a place-based approach, working with a limited number of high-need zip codes each year. The ultimate goal is to improve a neighborhood's food environment by supporting sustainable changes at multiple levels. To achieve this, Shop Healthy works directly with food retailers, community residents, and food distributors.
Visit Shop Healthy NYC on the Department of Health's Website
Shop Healthy NYC Evaluation Reports
Youth Mental Health Advocates
The Academy for Community Behavioral Health (the Academy) launched the Youth Mental Health Advocate (YMHA) pilot in 2023. As part of Working the Gap, a collaboration with CUNY School of Professional Studies (SPS) Youth Studies, YMHA engages young adults (ages 18-24 years) who have completed high school or a GED and are not currently in college, and included 120+ hours of applied skills training from the Academy, access to college courses, and support pursuing education or career goals. Youth Advocates work part-time in community-based organizations, where they co-facilitate mental wellness programs, develop and lead workshops, foster peer engagement, and support both programmatic and administrative efforts across a range of youth-centered initiatives. They also apply participatory research skills, including to help co-design the YMHA program itself. With mentorship, clinical supervision, and personalized guidance, YMHA provides a structured path for young people to develop their potential and contribute their vital creativity, insights, and care in their communities.
To learn more, visit the YMHA website.
Select Past Projects
The following list highlights a selection of projects previously supported by NYC Opportunity, some of which continue independently without our funding or oversight.
3-2-1 IMPACT
3-2-1 IMPACT is a NYC Health + Hospitals initiative that advances the health and well-being of young children and families. The pilot program integrates and coordinates prenatal, primary care, and behavioral health services for families with children aged 0-3, enhancing wraparound services and referrals. In addition to improving accessibility and efficacy of care, IMPACT is improving payment and reporting systems to build evidence of sustainable two-generational care that supports both parents and children. The program is jointly funded by Robin Hood. For more details on the program's implementation, outcomes, and lessons learned, see this 2024 case study in Pediatrics.
Connections to Care
The Connections to Care (C2C) program, one of the 54 initiatives of ThriveNYC, is an innovative strategy that integrates mental health support into the work of community-based organizations (CBOs) that serve low-income and at-risk populations who may be struggling with unmet mental health needs. Through C2C, CBO staff are trained by Mental Health Provider partners to employ these core mental health interventions with their participants.
Cure Violence - YMI
Cure Violence is an evidence-based violence prevention program that leverages the experiences of young men who have themselves experienced violence to act as "credible messengers" of an anti-violence message, in order to prevent and reduce youth violence. Violence interrupters work in the community and in partner hospitals to stop conflicts before they happen, and outreach workers redirect the highest-risk youth away from life on the streets. Program provider staff also engage in outreach and organizing to mobilize communities to reject violence as a social norm.
This program has been expanded as part of the NYC Crisis Management System, and is currently overseen by the DYCD Office of Neighborhood Safety.
To learn more, visit the DYCD Office of Neighborhood Safety website.
EmPWR (Environments Promoting Wellness and Resilience)
Environments Promoting Wellness and Resilience (EmPWR) is a collaboration between the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) and the Human Resources Administration (HRA) that is transforming select spaces in domestic violence shelters to better meet the needs of survivors and their children. The program engages survivors and staff to plan design changes in the shelters, promoting wellness, and supporting the social-emotional needs of survivors and their children.
EmPWR Evaluation Reports
Food Policy Coordinator
NYC Opportunity created the position of the Food Policy Coordinator within the Mayor's Office in order to promote healthy food access for low-income New Yorkers.
Opportunity NYC
Opportunity NYC - Family Rewards was a privately funded, conditional cash transfer (CCT) program to help families break the cycle of poverty. The program, which was rigorously evaluated, was the first comprehensive CCT program in a developed country. This program is currently inactive.
Opportunity NYC Evaluation Reports
- Opportunity NYC – Family Rewards MDRC Evaluation - 2013
- Opportunity NYC - Family Rewards High School Student Study - 2012
- Learning Together: Family Rewards Qualitative Study - 2011
- Early Findings from Opportunity NYC - Family Rewards - 2010
- A Preliminary Look at Early Educational Results of the Opportunity NYC - Family Rewards Program - 2009
School-Based Health Centers (SBHC's)
SBHCs provide on-site healthcare, including reproductive health, at selected NYC public schools. The facilities provide scheduled and walk-in services to students when schools are in session. SBHCs provide multiple services in the schools in which they are located:
- Primary care and reproductive health services on-site
- First aid care to all students registered in the building; and
- Emergency care to anyone in need on school premises.
SBHC's are an evidence-based strategy that multiple evaluations have shown to positively impact student health outcomes.
Teen ACTION
An after-school service learning initiative designed to reduce risky behavior and enhance school performance among middle and high school students by promoting positive life skills, a sense of efficacy and self-worth, and citizenship. This program is currently inactive.