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SAMHSA Announces Over $700 Million in New Funding for Mental Health, Substance Use, and Homelessness Services

by The Alliance for Rights and Recovery

Alliance Alert: The Alliance for Rights and Recovery is continuing to review SAMHSA’s newly announced mental health and substance use funding opportunities, which include significant investments in Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics (CCBHCs), 988 crisis services, mobile crisis teams, substance use treatment and recovery, suicide prevention, child trauma services, and other initiatives. We are encouraged to see continued federal investment in community-based mental health and substance use services, particularly programs that expand access to alternative crisis services, recovery supports, and effective prevention programs.

At the same time, we are deeply concerned that portions of this funding announcement are explicitly tied to the Administration’s Executive Order, Ending Crime and Disorder on America’s Streets. That Executive Order promotes policies that emphasize increased institutionalization and incarceration of people experiencing homelessness and mental health and substance use challenges while rejecting effective approaches such as Housing First. The newly announced STREETS program similarly prohibits the use of Housing First approaches and is closely aligned with the Executive Order’s emphasis on public safety and enforcement.

The Alliance believes that lasting recovery and community safety are best achieved by investing in voluntary, recovery-oriented services that people trust and choose to access. Decades of research have demonstrated the effectiveness of approaches such as permanent supportive housing using Housing First principles, peer support, Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics, mobile crisis services, recovery community organizations, supported employment, and other community-based interventions. These approaches improve health, reduce homelessness, decrease hospitalization and incarceration, and strengthen communities without resorting to coercion.

As we continue evaluating these funding opportunities, we will be working closely with our national partners to advocate with SAMHSA, Congress, and the Administration for continued investments in voluntary, evidence-based programs that respect individual rights and promote recovery. We will also continue opposing efforts to shift federal behavioral health policy toward punitive responses that rely on institutionalization, criminalization, or the dismantling of proven approaches such as Housing First.

The Alliance remains committed to advancing policies that expand access to housing, treatment, recovery supports, peer services, and other community-based resources that help people thrive while protecting their dignity, autonomy, and civil rights.

Secretary Kennedy Announces Over $700 Million in New Funding to Address Mental Illness, Addiction, Homelessness
Wednesday, June 17, 2026

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. today announced the posting of a $96 million funding opportunity for the Safety Through Recovery, Engagement, and Evidence-based Treatment and Support (STREETS) program, along with $612 million in funding opportunities for additional behavioral health programs. These announcements, which drive forward President Trump’s Great American Recovery Initiative, were made during a press conference following the Secretary’s visit to the Easterseals Michigan-Clinton Township Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic (CCBHC).

“Through more than $700 million in new investments, we are advancing President Trump’s Great American Recovery Initiative and addressing the addiction and serious mental illness that fuel homelessness across America. These investments will help move people from the streets into treatment and recovery, strengthen families, save lives, and make communities safer,” said Secretary Kennedy.

“Every community deserves access to effective behavioral health services that help people prevent addiction, achieve recovery, address mental health challenges, and respond to crises,” said SAMHSA Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Christopher D. Carroll. “Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics are a cornerstone of this effort, providing comprehensive, community-based care that helps people sustain recovery and rebuild their lives. Alongside initiatives like STREETS, they advance the goals of the Great American Recovery Initiative by connecting people to treatment, housing, and ongoing support that strengthen communities and save lives.”

$96 Million for Safety Through Recovery, Engagement, and Evidence-based Treatment and Support (STREETS) Program

The STREETS program, housed within the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), will award eight communities up to $3 million a year for four years. The program will distribute up to $24 million each year, totaling $96 million over four years, to develop multisector, state-of-the-art care systems for people who are homeless and have substance use disorders, serious mental illness, or co-occurring disorders.

Given the unprecedented burden and impact of addiction and mental illness among the homeless population, this program places special emphasis on rapid, comprehensive and coordinated street-based engagement, treatment, and recovery support services using a community-wide approach that brings together local government, health and housing providers, law enforcement, and the courts.

This funding aligns with President Trump’s Executive Order on Ending Crime and Disorder on America’s Streets and the Great American Recovery Initiative, co-chaired by HHS Secretary Kennedy and White House Senior Advisor for Addiction Recovery Kathryn Burgum. STREETS also supports SAMHSA’s Strategic Priorities to advance evidence-based treatment approaches that prioritize recovery, self-sufficiency, and public safety while directly combating the devastating effects of addiction in America. Programs awarded funding may not use housing first approaches or prohibited harm reduction services.

$223.1 Million for CCBHCs

The following programs will strengthen and expand access to comprehensive community-based behavioral health care nationwide. This funding will support existing CCBHCs in sustaining and enhancing mental health and substance use disorder services, help establish new CCBHCs in underserved areas to address gaps in care, and assist states in developing certification systems that prepare them to participate in the CCBHC Medicaid Demonstration Program.

$238.6 Million for the 988 & Suicide Crisis Lifeline

The following programs will improve local 988 capacity and state and territory response to all 988 contacts, including calls, chats, and texts; improve service for populations at high risk of suicide and overdose; strengthen connections and response capabilities in Tribal communities and/or for American Indians/Alaska Natives; and expand efforts to support individuals post-contact to provide continued support and linkages to decrease suicide, deaths by overdose, and future crisis events.

$80 Million for Substance Use Prevention, Treatment, and Recovery

The following programs advance efforts to combat the nation’s addiction and overdose crises while strengthening community safety, public health, and access to care. The investments support rural emergency medical services, expand treatment and recovery options for individuals and families affected by substance use disorders, increase prevention efforts for youth, families, and communities, address opioid and fentanyl-related harms, and improve services for Tribal communities and pregnant and postpartum women.

More than $70 Million for Mental Health Services and Supports

The following programs will address childhood trauma, deliver mobile crisis care, divert youth and adults with mental illness from criminal and/or juvenile justice involvement to community-based treatment, support mental health services and suicide prevention efforts for American Indians/Alaska Natives, and address the mental health needs of at-risk infants and young children.

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.