NYC Well can connect you with a trained Peer Support Specialist who will support you during a crisis and listen when you need to talk with someone.
Our Peer Support Specialists’ own experiences with mental health or substance use challenges can help you move through difficult times and introduce some of the choices that are available for you to deal with your challenges. Peer Support Specialists know firsthand how important it is to have someone who can listen and support you in the journey of improving your life.
- When you call NYC Well press 2 for English, 3 for Spanish, 5 for Mandarin or Cantonese, then press 1 to speak or chat with a Peer Support Specialist. Available in English, Spanish, Mandarin and Cantonese 24/7/365.
- When you text NYC Well, text 1 for English, 2 for Spanish, 3 for Chinese, then press 4 to text with a Peer Support Specialist.
- When you chat with NYC Well, click “Chat” on the main page. To continue in English, click on the “Chat Now with a Peer Support Specialist” button. To chat in Spanish or Chinese, first click on the desired language and then click on the “Chat Now with a Peer Support Specialist” button.
How Peer Support Specialists Can Help
Hope & encouragement
Peer Support Specialists give hope and encouragement that their challenges are not permanent and that they can lead a meaningful and productive life.
Communication tips
They help you learn how to be effective in communicating your needs to your care providers.
Mental health tools
Peer Support Specialists are able to provide tools to prevent a mental health crisis from getting worse.
Shared experience
Speaking with someone who has personal experience going through what you are going through can help you feel that you are not alone.
Supportive services
Peer Support Specialists can provide you with information about supportive services like supported housing or supported employment to help get you back on your feet.
Messages from our Peer Support Specialists
Feeling stressed, depressed and not in control. Life can be demanding and challenging in ways that can affect our emotional health and others around us. My unhealthy coping skills led to a life of self-sabotage and self-destructive behaviors that was out of control and not working for me. I was not happy and I did not know how to change my situations until I decided to reach out for help hoping to find happiness and a life worth living. My journey in recovery was and still is based on climbing the shoulder of others who are in recovery. I felt understood and supported. It was my Peers who were willing to listen, share their life struggles and support me in my recovery that led me to train to become a Peer Specialist. My recovery and training allows me to share my recovery journey and ways I cope in the hope that others will feel supported and encouraged to start their recovery journey. I am grateful I am healthy to be a part of NYC Well's Peer Support Specialist Team to support you. It is my way to give back and maintain my emotional health. Be kind to yourself and reach out to a Peer Support Specialist to find ways to cope with life’s demands and challenges together. We are here for you.
I started working with NYC Well Peer Support Line in 2016. We were the first peer group, I was so excited and ready to do all I could . I took off doing so many things to show the world how great my job and team were. As I grew in the job, I quickly moved from per diem to part time to full time within months. Peer support is different because we can really connect with callers based on us having some of the same issues caller are calling in about. I have mental illness, I have had drug abuse history. I have been homeless and in and out of jails institutions as well, abuse and family trauma. This really helps callers and visitors feel safe to talk and assures them that they are not alone. This is often a bridge for us to really connect, helping callers and visitors to move forward. Today I got a call from a caller that just wanted to say thank you. That we helped her change her life! Now that is good stuff!!