The National Coalition for Mental Health Recovery is in Washington, D.C. this week for our annual Hill Days! A powerful group of mental health and peer recovery advocates from across the country are meeting with Congress to demand action on the urgent needs facing our communities.
We’re speaking out to:
- Protect Medicaid, which millions rely on for mental health and substance use care
- Support Peer led programs, including peer run respites and peer recovery centers
- Defend housing programs, like Section 8, from dangerous federal cuts
- Preserve SNAP benefits, which help over 40 million people—including kids, seniors, and people with disabilities—put food on the table
These essential services are under serious threat in the House-passed budget bill, which could:
- Strip health coverage frommillions of people
- Slash SNAP by nearly $300 billion
- Cut housing supports by 43%, putting millions at risk of losing shelter
We’ll also be hosting a press conference on June 11th at the Capitol to uplift these issues and call for federal action.
We need your voice too!
You can support our efforts by taking two actions on June 11th when we host the press conference:
Call 1-855-245-3682 to tell your Senators to Vote NO on the reconciliation bill unless these harmful cuts are removed.
Message your congressmembers using our portal: Take Action Now!
Now is the time to fight back. We must ensure the federal budget does not harm people by gutting the vital programs they depend on. Let’s show up and speak out—our communities are counting on us.
See below for the press advisory for the June 11th event for more information.
MEDIA ADVISORY
National Mental Health and Substance Use Recovery Advocates Urge Congress to Reject Proposals to Gut Essential Programs
Where: House Triangle (east side of the Capitol), June 11, 2025, 9 a.m. ET
WASHINGTON, DC (June 9, 2025)—On June 11, 2025, at 9:00 a.m. ET, a coalition of grassroots mental health and substance use recovery advocates from across the U.S. will gather at the House Triangle (on the east side of the Capitol) to call on Congress to craft a budget agreement that will build on longstanding commitments to support the recovery of millions of Americans, and reject harsh budget proposals that will abandon them by taking away the healthcare, housing, and food that are essential to their lives.
“Congress and the White House must expand, not eviscerate, support for recovery and peer support services, housing, employment supports, and crisis alternatives to completely avoidable—and traumatizing—visits to emergency rooms, hospitals, and police involvement,” says Daniel B. Fisher, MD, PhD, a founder and the vice president of the National Coalition for Mental Health Recovery (NCMHR), which brings together statewide organizations run by people with lived experience of mental health recovery. NCMHR has organized meetings with legislative staff from June 9 through 12.
“As some states move to justify increased institutionalization based on a person’s inability to meet their basic needs, the federal government is considering devastating cuts to the very programs that help people meet those needs,” NCMHR board member Luke Sikinyi says. “Gutting them would strip essential supports from over 78 million Medicaid enrollees, nearly 40 million SNAP recipients, and 3.8 million people relying on Medicaid, SNAP, and housing assistance. We must protect and strengthen these services, not dismantle them.”
“Alternatives such as peer-run crisis respites, warmlines, crisis stabilization units, and crisis outreach must replace institutional care with compassion, connection, and real understanding,” NCMHR president Braunwynn Franklin says.
Contact: Braunwynn Franklin, President, NCMHR, +1-202-642-4480, Braunwynn@313networksolutionsllc.com or info@ncmhr.org