The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced Monday that it has provided $77 million in new grant funding for substance use prevention, treatment, community mental health, suicide prevention and crisis services.
The funding was awarded through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. It came at the end of National Substance Use Primary Prevention Month. More than $22 million of the funding is focused on substance use prevention in communities.
“Prevention is the foundation of a strong behavioral health system,” said SAMHSA Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Christopher D. Carroll in a statement. “More than $22 million of these awards will help states, tribes, and communities prevent substance use and strengthen the protective factors that we know help people thrive. At the same time, these investments strengthen treatment and recovery, community behavioral health, suicide prevention, and crisis services so people can get the support they need when they need it.”
The projects receiving funding include:
- Substance use prevention: SAMHSA awarded $12.2 million through its Strategic Prevention Framework Partnerships for Success program for Communities and Tribes to support local substance-use prevention efforts and strengthen prevention providers. A separate $10 million program will provide similar support through state-level partnerships to expand community-based, evidence-based substance-use prevention services.
- Substance Use Treatment and Recovery: The agency provided $9.6 million through Building Communities of Recovery to help organizations expand long-term recovery support for people with substance use and co-occurring mental health disorders. The agency also awarded $8.7 million for substance-use screening and early intervention in healthcare and school settings, and $5.3 million to strengthen integrated substance-use and maternal mental health services for pregnant and postpartum women and their families.
- Community mental health: SAMHSA awarded $8.9 million to help communities address the behavioral health effects of crime and violence and improve community safety. The agency also provided $8 million to support a national child-trauma center and $4.9 million to develop and strengthen programs supporting the social-emotional and mental health needs of infants and young children.
- Suicide prevention and crisis services: SAMHSA provided $7.5 million to expand follow-up services through 988 crisis centers, connecting people with ongoing treatment and support to reduce suicide, overdose deaths and future crises. The agency also awarded $1.9 million to strengthen community-based suicide prevention and early intervention programs for adults at risk.
“Every American deserves the chance to live free from addiction and the devastation of untreated mental illness,” said HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., in a statement. “President Trump’s Great American Recovery is taking on these crises at their roots. We are investing in prevention, expanding access to effective treatment, strengthening crisis response, and helping communities intervene before tragedy strikes. Our goal is clear: save lives, restore families, and help more Americans achieve lasting recovery and better health.”
Photo: Wacharaphong, Getty Images
