The city is investing an additional $22 million a year to aid the response to the opioid crisis.

Opioid deaths have skyrocketed in the city in recent years.

In an effort to reverse the trend, the city is putting the funds into a program called "Healing NYC." Some of the money will go towards treatment including for those arrested on low-level drug charges.

The effort is expected to divert about 1,400 people a year from the criminal justice system.

Mayor Bill de Blasio says the program is the beginning of ending the opioid epidemic.

"It is time to go on the offensive. It's time to fight it back," de Blasio said. "And so we're going to pour in resources. We're going to pour in personnel. We're going to focus every day on how to bring down this horrible, horrible crisis, how to save more lives."

Some of the funding will go towards arming the public with Naloxone kits and creating a Naloxone training program.

There are also plans to expand a peer intervention program at city hospitals.

Officials say "Healing NYC" will save an estimated 400 lives by 2022.