New York State Department of Health AIDS Institute (fiscal sponsor: Health Research, Inc.)

The opioid epidemic continues to ravage the nation and New York. The drug-related death rate in New York State has escalated over the past two decades. More than 6,300 New Yorkers are estimated to have died of overdoses in 2022, with a disproportionate impact in communities of color and rural counties. Public health and law enforcement agencies are challenged to stay one step ahead; historically, the State has relied on toxicology reports produced after a death. While this is important data, it is collected too late to save lives. One element of harm reduction is drug checking, which tests drugs for contaminants and allows users to avoid them altogether or make informed decisions to reduce potential harm. In 2025, NYHealth awarded the New York State Department of Health AIDS Institute a grant to support community-based sites to test drug samples for toxic additives and provide harm reduction interventions to hard-to-reach people who use drugs. 

Under this grant, ODUH will work with harm reduction programs, and train messengers and peer navigators to integrate on-site drug testing and implement off-site testing. It will increase harm reduction services to marginalized communities by strengthening ties to local service providers and positioning peer navigators. ODUH will conduct real-time surveillance of the local drug supply, analyze anonymized drug samples sent to the State’s surveillance site, and disseminate findings. ODUH will also create a public-facing dashboard to inform the public about drug alerts.