Syracuse officials seek OnPoint contract extension after Project Heal abruptly ended services

Syracuse City Public Safety Committee members heard an update on the Safer Streets pilot and plans to extend OnPoint’s contract after Project Heal abruptly stopped providing therapeutic services in September 2024, leaving a multi‑month gap that reduced the program’s active caseload from an originally planned 50 people to roughly 9–13.

Director Latifah, the city official who presented the update, told the committee that “what brings us here is the abrupt interruption of contract by Project Heal,” and that City Hall moved to contract with OnPoint after the termination. She said the fully executed contract with OnPoint was completed on 2025‑01‑21 and that therapist subcontracts were signed in early February, with direct therapeutic work beginning in mid‑March.

The loss of Project Heal created a service gap that staff and contractors described as substantial. “It wasn't even a rug being ripped from underneath us. We fell off of a cliff,” said Lisa Evans, who identified herself in the meeting as the grama manager in the mayor’s office assigned to reduce gun violence, describing the period between Project Heal’s September contract expiration and OnPoint’s operational start.

Why the program served far fewer people than planned

Dr. Anita Wright, the program’s clinical…