Mental Health Support New Yorkers Can Access While Staying Home
While our City stays home to stop the spread of coronavirus, New Yorkers can access a range of mental health services by phone or online. If you or someone you care about needs support, we encourage you to reach out to the programs below. Help is available.
Every mental health service below is free to New Yorkers, regardless of insurance coverage or immigration status. Check back often for updates.
Call 911 for safety or medical emergencies
Get the latest information on the coronavirus (COVID-19)
Text COVID to 692-692 for regularly updated information via text message. Text COVIDESP to 692-692 for updates in Spanish.
For the latest updates, follow the Mayor’s Office of ThriveNYC on Twitter, at @MentalHealthNYC
Mental Health Support New Yorkers Can Access While Staying Home, Provided by City Agencies and Partners
NYC WELL
If your symptoms of stress become overwhelming, reach out for support and help. You can contact NYC Well, a confidential helpline for mental health and substance misuse services. Trained counselors can provide you with support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, in over 200 languages. Services include:
- Crisis counseling
- Peer support
- Short-term counseling
- Mobile crisis teams
- Connection to ongoing mental health and substance misuse services
For ideas about maintaining connection and developing coping strategies, Vibrant, the non-profit that operates NYC Well, is offering a Safe Space resource guide on their website.
Information on coping with stress during infectious disease outbreaks, from the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene
AGING NEW YORKERS
If you feel lonely or isolated or have questions about mental health services you currently receive through the NYC Department for the Aging, call the Aging Connect hotline: call 212-AGING-NYC (212-244-6469). The Aging Connect hotline also provides information for caregivers.
VETERANS
If you are a veteran living in New York, or New Jersey, you can get trauma counseling and crisis intervention support. Call 311 to get connected to these services; in an emergency, call 911. Veterans can also access mental health support by calling the Veterans Crisis Line: 800-273-8255.
The NYC Department of Veterans’ Services publishes a weekly newsletter featuring the latest news and information regarding COVID-19’s impact on the veteran community. Learn more and subscribe by clicking here.
STUDENTS AND YOUNG PEOPLE
The NYC Department of Youth and Community Development is continuing to provide services for young people in Runaway and Homeless Youth Residences and Drop-In Centers. If you have questions about programming or service modifications, call DYCD Youth Connect at 1-800-246-4646 or 1-646-343-6800 or email DYCDCOVID19@dycd.nyc.gov.
Students and families can access remote social emotional learning tools for all age groups from the NYC Department of Education. To get mental health help immediately, students and their families should contact NYC Well: text “WELL” to 65173, call 1-888-NYC-WELL (692-9355), or chat now. Additional information from the NYC Department of Education on remote learning is available here.
In order to successfully fight COVID-19, our first responders, health care providers, transit workers, and other key personnel must be able to come to work. Children of these front-line workers can be safely cared for in Regional Enrichment Centers, which offer three daily hot meals, remote learning time with teachers, activities like art, music, and physical education, and social and emotional support. Information on Regional Enrichment Centers is available here.
PARENTS AND CAREGIVERS
A new webinar for parents and caregivers of infants and young children includes strategies to support infants and young children, as well as the adults in their lives, during the COVID-19 crisis. This webinar was developed by the Early Childhood Mental Health Network, which is operated by the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.
PEOPLE HARMED BY VIOLENCE, CRIME OR ABUSE
Safe Horizon operates NYC’s 24-hour hotline: 1-800-621-4673. You can also chat with a Safe Horizon advocate, who can offer information, advocacy and support through SafeChat. The latest information on hours and how to access this service is available here.
For anyone needing resources to help themselves or a loved one experiencing dating, domestic, or gender-based violence, you can also visit the NYC Hope Resource Directory at nyc.gov/NYCHOPE. For immediate safety planning, shelter assistance, mental health support, and other resources, all NYC Family Justice Centers are providing support by phone, Monday to Friday, from 9:00am – 5:00pm. The physical locations of the Family Justice Centers are temporarily closed.
- Bronx: 718-508-1220
- Brooklyn: 718-250-5113
- Manhattan: 212-602-2800
- Queens: 718-575-4545
- Staten Island: 718-697-4300
During evenings and weekends, call NYC’s 24-hour hotline: 1-800-621-4673.
PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES
Resources for people with disabilities, including mental health support, during the COVID-19 crisis, from the NYC Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities
CITY GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES
Support for New York City government employees during the COVID-19 crisis, including the NYC Employee Assistance Program, from the NYC Mayor’s Office of Labor Relations
Additional Support from New York City Agencies
Complete list of city agency service suspensions and reductions during the COVID-19 crisis. For additional information, call 311
Regularly updated information and resources for all New Yorkers, including information for healthcare providers and home and community workers, is available on the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene’s coronavirus website
FOOD ASSISTANCE
Grab and Go meals for students from the NYC Department of Education
Take-home meals for older adults from the NYC Department for the Aging. Please call your local senior center (contact information available here) or 311 to ask about meal availability and pick-up times
PARENTS AND CAREGIVERS
Information for parents and caregivers including child care assistance, an FAQ for parents and caretakers regarding ACS involvement during the COVID-19 crisis, the status of Family Court, and how to talk to pre-school and school-age children about the coronavirus, from the NYC Administration for Children’s Services
EMPLOYMENT AND UNEMPLOYMENT
Help for people who may be unemployed due to COVID-19 – including food, financial, rent, and employment assistance – from NYC Emergency Management
Information for jobseekers, including how to access remote Workforce1 career services, from the NYC Department of Small Business Services
BENEFITS AND HOUSING
Apply to receive benefits while staying home, including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Cash Assistance (CA), from the NYC Human Resources Administration
Information on COVID-19 and rent hardships for residents from the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA)
Tenants’ rights during the COVID-19 crisis, from the NYC Mayor’s Office to Protect Tenants
BUSINESS OWNERS AND OPERATORS
Resources for Taxi and Limousine Commission-licensed drivers, vehicle owners and operators during the COVID-19 crisis from the NYC Taxi and Limousine Commission
Resources for small businesses affected by the coronavirus from the NYC Department of Small Business Services
An FAQ for residential and commercial building owners and managers about COVID-19, from the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene
IMMIGRANT COMMUNITIES
The Public Charge Rule during the COVID-19 crisis, from the NYC Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs
HOW YOU CAN HELP
How to help people affected by COVID-19, including how to donate, volunteer (as an individual or an organization) from Help Now NYC and how healthcare workers can support healthcare facilities in need from the NYS Department of Health’s Office of Health Emergency Preparedness
How to help doctors, nurses and other healthcare workers on the front lines – including support for meals, hotel rooms and scrubs – so they can continue to care for patients without exposing themselves or their families to undue infection risk, from NYC Health + Hospitals
Source: Mental Health Support New Yorkers Can Access While Staying Home – Mayor Office of ThriveNYC
