The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), announced $96.7 million in grants and cooperative agreements to strengthen behavioral health services and supports across the country. The awards provide funding for a range of behavioral health services and initiatives, including services for people with serious mental illness who are homeless, suicide prevention and early intervention, substance use disorder treatment, training and technical assistance, peer support, and disaster-related emotional support.
“Every American deserves the opportunity to recover and live with dignity,” said HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. “These investments will expand access to treatment, strengthen behavioral health services, and help more people move from crisis to recovery. That is how we restore health, rebuild lives, and strengthen our communities.”
“These investments reflect SAMHSA’s commitment to making sure people can get the right support at the right time, whether they are homeless, facing a mental health or substance use challenge, at risk of suicide, or coping with the effects of a disaster,” said SAMHSA Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Christopher D. Carroll. “By expanding access to treatment, strengthening the behavioral health workforce, and supporting communities on the front lines, we are helping more Americans move from crisis to stability and toward lasting recovery.”
The awards announced include the following:
- Projects for Assistance in Transition from Homelessness (PATH) ($63.4 million), formula-based funding for 50 states, Washington, D.C., and five territories to fund outreach and services for individuals with serious mental illness who are homeless. PATH grants are awarded to states and territories, which in turn provide funding to local organizations that deliver critical services, including street outreach, case management, community mental healthcare, substance use treatment, housing-related assistance, and referrals to healthcare, employment, education, and housing resources.
- Garrett Lee Smith State/Tribal Suicide Prevention and Early Intervention ($16.8 million), which supports states and tribes in implementing youth suicide prevention and early intervention strategies, including efforts to reduce suicide and suicide attempts among young people.
- Community Programs for Outreach and Intervention with Youth and Young Adults at Clinical High Risk for Psychosis (CHR-P) ($7.1 million), which will support the identification of youth and young adults, not more than 25 years old, who are at clinical high risk for psychosis and the provision of evidence-based interventions to prevent the onset of psychosis or lessen the severity of a psychotic disorder.
- Providers Clinical Support System – Substance Use Disorder Treatment (PCSS-SUD Treatment) ($2.9 million), which provides training and technical assistance, mentoring, and ongoing support for healthcare professionals in general health and behavioral health settings to increase their capacity to identify and treat substance use disorders, especially opioid and alcohol use disorders.
- Disaster Distress Helpline (DDH) ($1.9 million), which supports the national helpline that provides immediate, confidential, and accessible emotional support services to individuals and communities across the United States who are experiencing psychological distress related to natural or human-caused disasters.
- Center of Excellence for Eating Disorders (COE-ED) ($1.8 million), which will provide national training and technical assistance (TTA) to healthcare providers on screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment for eating disorders. The Center will also provide TTA to paraprofessionals and relevant non-clinical community service providers. The TTA is intended to identify and support individuals across the lifespan, including children and youth, with or at risk for eating disorders.
- Statewide Consumer Network (SCN) ($1.7 million), which will strengthen the capacity and sustainability of statewide mental health peer-run organizations and their efforts to support people with mental health needs.
- Targeted Capacity Expansion-Special Projects (TCE-SP) ($1.1 million), which will support targeted strategies to provide treatment and related services for substance use disorder (SUD) and/or co-occurring disorder (COD) to communities disproportionately impacted by SUD/COD. Recipients will use public health data to identify the SUD/COD treatment needs in the community that this program will support with evidence-based and population-appropriate treatment and related services.
If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org. To locate a treatment facility or provider, visit FindTreatment.gov.
