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2025 Year in Review

By January 25, 2026March 25th, 2026No Comments

Thank you for your interest in our 2025 Year in Review! Click on the buttons below to explore our annual reports from 2023 and 2024.

2025 Year in Review

       2025 was a milestone year for the MATTERS program. With the release of its new and enhanced referral platform, the launch of its syringe services program (SSP), and expansion into Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, MATTERS is changing the ways in which community organizations collaborate to address substance use disorder. Our 2025 Year in Review report will highlight the progress we’ve made in linking people who use drugs (PWUD) to stigma-free, human-centered resources and support.

Rapid Referrals Platform

       In August 2025, we launched a new and enhanced referral platform designed to better meet the evolving needs of both patients and partner organizations. The new platform expanded MATTERS’ reach by facilitating referrals outside New York State and automatically following up with treatment partners to strengthen care coordination and improve patient outcomes. Today, MATTERS partners with 330+ partners across New York and Allegheny County, Pennsylvania to facilitate referrals. About 170 of these participating organizations are receiving outpatient treatment facilities, which contribute nearly 2,000 weekly appointment slots that individuals can choose from during the referral process. See Figure 1 for a breakdown of current MATTERS partners.

Figure 1: Referral Platform Participation

*Law enforcement, correctional facilities, educational settings, first responders, telemedicine, etc.

       For many years, the MATTERS referral platform was hosted through the New York State Department of Health’s Health Commerce System, providing the infrastructure that supported MATTERS’ early development and expansion. MATTERS is grateful to the New York State Department of Health for hosting the platform and for its partnership in helping the program grow and reach communities across New York State. As the MATTERS network continued to evolve, so did the opportunity to support referrals beyond state boundaries, reflecting the realities of individuals who travel across state lines for work, education, or care. MATTERS remains committed to meeting people where they are and offering options that align with their needs, regardless of geography. Expanding into new states and regions is invaluable in ensuring a robust network is available on one streamlined platform.

       In addition to facilitating referrals in other states, the new MATTERS Referral Platform© offers patients even more flexibility when searching for care. During the referral process, individuals can now filter treatment organizations by preferred language and by additional services, including Hepatitis C treatment and HIV testing. The enhanced platform also gives partners more direct control over their referrals. Each partner organization can access a unique administrative dashboard to update appointment availability, manage users, and view referral history. See Figure 2 for a comparison of the previous and current MATTERS platform. The initiative to develop a new referral platform was years in the making and would not have been possible without the feedback and collaboration from our referral network partners.

Previous Referral Platform

Accessible through the New York State Health Commerce System, it facilitated referrals across New York in about 5 minutes, sent referral confirmations via secure fax, and required a universal password to access the referral platform.

Enhanced Referral Platform

Accessible through the MATTERS site, it facilitates referrals in New York and Pennsylvania in as little as 3 minutes, referral confirmations are sent via email or text message, and each organization has its own unique administrative homepage to manage their account

Figure 2: The New MATTERS Referral Platform©

Linkage to Care Anywhere

        Since the launch of its initial rapid referral platform in 2019, MATTERS has facilitated nearly 7,500 referrals to outpatient treatment for opioid use disorder. In 2025 alone, the program completed 2,400+ referrals, a 60% increase from 2024. This rise in referrals came in part from MATTERS’ geographic expansion into Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, as well as the evolution of the referral network. In addition to facilitating referrals beyond New York State, MATTERS focused on integrating referrals for opioid use disorder into different sectors in 2025. In 2019, referrals primarily came from traditional medical settings like hospitals and emergency departments; today, MATTERS partners with a broad range of referring sites, including community outreach agencies, peer support organizations, and telemedicine settings. Truly meeting people where they are requires expanding the settings in which connections to services can happen.

Wraparound Support

        The MATTERS Referral Platform© is complemented by a suite of wraparound services designed to center the people at the heart of each referral. In order to effectively meet people where they are, our wraparound services seek to address common barriers that can prevent individuals from engaging in or continuing care, such as transportation for follow-up appointments, issues with insurance, and paying for prescriptions. Anyone referred through MATTERS who reports having no insurance is automatically issued a medication voucher to cover the cost of up to 14 days of any combination buprenorphine/naloxone prescription. In 2025, over 90% of everyone referred through MATTERS received the medication voucher, which highlights the need for this service for people with opioid use disorder. During the referral process, everyone is now offered up to three free, round-trip rides for their follow-up appointments and trips to their pharmacy – no questions asked. Additionally, individuals can opt in to be connected to a peer support agency during the referral process. The new referral platform allows patients to select with which organization they would like to follow up. MATTERS partners with 30 peer agencies across New York State and Allegheny County, Pennsylvania.

        In 2025, approximately 20% of individuals referred through MATTERS chose to engage with peer support, and over 30% requested transportation assistance; these options are seamlessly built into the referral process to reduce the need for follow-up coordination on referring site partners. After the initial linkage to care, MATTERS follows up with everyone referred through its platform within 72 hours and again after 30, 60, and 90 days to ensure continuity of care. We developed a new feature on the enhanced MATTERS platform that sends automated partner follow-up notifications on days 3, 14, and 30. These follow-up touchpoints create opportunities to help ensure successful linkage to care, maintain ongoing patient engagement, identify challenges or gaps in care, and offer additional support or referrals as needed.

Telemedicine

        MATTERS partners with EMConnect to provide virtual evaluations for opioid use disorder across New York State and Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. In 2025, about 55% of all MATTERS referrals came from telemedicine settings. MATTERS telemedicine services completed an average of 370+ opioid use disorder-related calls each month, a 24% increase from 2024. Figure 3 breaks down annual telemedicine utilization by month. This uptake in telemedicine utilization can be attributed to the geographic expansion of telemedicine services and the raised awareness of MATTERS services. Individuals referred through MATTERS can also elect to follow up with virtual treatment providers for long-term care, expanding access to services for people with significant transportation limitations. In 2025, about 85% of people who connected to MATTERS telemedicine received a bridge prescription at the time of their evaluation. These bridge prescriptions play a vital role in keeping people safe by reducing gaps in medication access and lowering the risk of overdose during transitions in care. Telemedicine and treatment access are critical tools for reducing overdose risk, but they are not the only ways in which MATTERS supports community safety and overdose prevention. Harm reduction remains a foundational, life-saving approach in serving PWUD who may not need or be ready for treatment.

Figure 3: Telemedicine Utilization

For opioid use disorder-related calls only.

Harm Reduction Services

        Since the launch of its harm reduction supply distribution program in August 2022, MATTERS has become a national leader in harm reduction. Spanning across New York State, MATTERS’ harm reduction services aim to improve access to life-saving supplies like naloxone (commonly referred to by the brand name Narcan) and drug test strips. In 2025 alone, MATTERS provided nearly 4 MILLION fentanyl and xylazine test strips directly to individuals and organizations in need through its mail-based distribution program. To date, MATTERS has distributed more than 24 million test strips by mail. In May 2025, MATTERS began providing naloxone to individuals by mail and has since distributed over 8,400 doses! This initiative would not be possible without the support of the New York State Office of Addiction Services and Supports (NYSOASAS). See Figure 4 for a breakdown of test strip distribution by region.

Figure 4: Test Strip Distribution by Region

        MATTERS also partners with NYSOASAS to distribute drug test strips and naloxone through its community-based vending machine network, the largest fleet of its kind in the United States. This year, MATTERS deployed and activated nearly 20 new machines at treatment centers, faith-based organizations, peer agencies, and more, bringing the number of active machines to 36. In 2025, MATTERS vending machines dispensed over 73,000 doses of naloxone and drug test strips at no cost. Figure 5 features the current MATTERS harm reduction vending machine map.

Figure 5: Harm Reduction Vending Machine Map

        To further expand access to life-saving supplies, MATTERS launched two new harm reduction services in 2025: its Syringe Services Program (SSP) and a naloxone wall box distribution initiative. Although many SSPs exist across New York State, consistent access to sterile syringes and other safe injection supplies varies, particularly in rural areas. MATTERS provides free safe injection supplies to participants across New York State by mail to help bridge gaps in access. MATTERS’ SSP enrolled nearly 200 participants and fulfilled 200+ orders in its first year, resulting in the distribution of over 42,000 sterile syringes. This initiative supports access to sterile supplies, helps prevent the transmission of infectious diseases, and supports ongoing engagement in services.

       MATTERS’ naloxone wall box distribution services help provide immediate public access to naloxone in the event of an overdose. Any organization in New York State, from a hospital to a middle school, can order free naloxone wall boxes from MATTERS to install anywhere at their facility. Since its launch in April 2025, MATTERS has distributed 1,800+ wall boxes across New York State; see Figure 6 for a heat map of naloxone wall box distribution.

Figure 6: Naloxone Wall Box Distribution

        Education around harm reduction remains a core part of the work MATTERS does across our networks. MATTERS provides free training to groups and organizations across New York State; training topics include an overview of the history and principles of the harm reduction movement, as well as how to respond to an overdose and how to use MATTERS drug test strips. In 2025, the MATTERS team led over 80 community education sessions, training 1,600+ community members in how to respond to an opioid overdose with naloxone and providing over 5,000 doses of the life-saving medication. MATTERS’ leadership in harm reduction is also demonstrated in its commitment to contributing to evidence-based literature. In 2025, MATTERS contributed to two harm reduction research publications, helping to inform best practices, policies, and program implementation across the harm reduction and substance disorder fields. Together, these efforts reflect MATTERS’ commitment to harm reduction as a central component of overdose prevention and community safety.

Looking Toward the Future

        In 2026, MATTERS plans to expand its geographic reach and scope of service offerings to better reflect the realities of PWUD. Substance use often intersects with other issues, such as mental health disorders, HIV, or Hepatitis C. As such, MATTERS plans to broaden its referral pathways beyond addiction treatment alone in 2026. This expansion into co-occurring health conditions supports MATTERS’ continued evolution as a responsive, patient-centered program.

        Geographic expansion will remain a central focus in the coming year. Following its continued growth across Pennsylvania, MATTERS will launch in Camden County, New Jersey in 2026. This expansion into a third state marks a significant step forward in extending the MATTERS model to new regions and centralizing access to addiction services across the United States. MATTERS is committed to providing low-barrier access to care in communities facing high burdens and is focused on improving rapid access, safety, and health outcomes for individuals and communities. MATTERS would like to thank the University at Buffalo, UBMD Emergency Medicine, New York State Department of Health, NYSOASAS, New Jersey Department of Health, and Allegheny County Department of Human Services for partnering to expand access to the MATTERS platform and services.

        None of this work would be possible without the continued partnership and support of our funders, community partners, and collaborators across New York, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. MATTERS’ impact and growth rely on trust and a shared commitment to ending the overdose epidemic and addressing substance use disorder across the United States. Together, we are building systems that prioritize human dignity, reduce preventable harms, and expand access to care for people and communities most impacted by substance use. Thank you to our partners, funders, and community stakeholders for your partnerships – we look forward to continuing this work in 2026.