New York, New York - New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Thursday announced the launch of two new youth health clinics at NYC Health + Hospitals/Woodhull and Queens.

The new initiative is designed to serve "young New Yorkers who are often reluctant to seek care or who don't have the health resources specifically tailored to their needs," Mamdani said in a press conference at the Woodhull Medical Center in Brooklyn.

"We know as New Yorkers transition into adulthood, their lives, their priorities, they change," the mayor acknowledged. "Teens age out of pediatric care, and their health care needs evolve."

Bolstered by $4 million from MetroPlusHealth, the Elevate You clinics will provide comprehensive care – including primary, behavioral, and reproductive care as well as social support services – to New Yorkers ages 16 to 25.

The mayor cited MetroPlusHealth claims data which shows that around 90% of youth stop seeing their mental health provider after turning 21.

"We want these clinics to feel like a space that young people can turn to when they're hurt, when they're isolated, when they're alone, when they feel as if their struggles are only their own when, in fact, we know that those are struggles that should concern all of us across this city. Especially when young people need help, but they don't know where to turn."