HHS unveils program to address homelessness and addiction, part of a set of new initiatives
Last edited Tue Feb 3, 2026, 06:12 AM - Edit history (1)
Source: AP
Updated 3:08 PM EST, February 2, 2026
NEW YORK (AP) — Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Monday announced that his department will devote $100 million toward a pilot program addressing homelessness and substance abuse in eight cities, building on an executive order President Donald Trump signed last week related to addiction.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services will also make faith-based organizations eligible for addiction-related grants and expand states’ ability to use federal health funding for substance abuse treatment in certain situations involving children, Kennedy said at an annual “Prevention Day” event for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
The new initiatives signal the administration acting on an issue that hits close to home for many Americans – including Kennedy, who has been open about his past heroin addiction and lifelong commitment to recovery. They represent some quick momentum for Trump’s executive order signed last Thursday launching what Trump calls the “Great American Recovery Initiative” to better align federal resources on the addiction crisis.
Yet the announcements come as the administration’s actions so far have created uncertainty, fear and logistical challenges for mental health and substance abuse treatment providers around the country.
Read more: https://apnews.com/article/trump-kennedy-addiction-mental-health-grants-54a453796d8753067e3f4b39a1d92156
Link to HHS PRESS RELEASE - Secretary Kennedy Announces $100 Million Investment in Great American Recovery
= new reply since forum marked as read
From further down in the article -
I did just find the HHS Press Release on this and added to the OP comments but this stood out about it -
They manufactured this complete lie because they had ZERO idea of how government operates and what was already in place -
The Biden HHS (in partnership with many non-profits) did the complete opposite of that fictional characterization, which is why drug abuse and overdoses and deaths WERE DOWN, as were the crime rates, NATIONWIDE.
Basically, 45, through Muskrat's DOGEshit chainsaw policy, completely gutted (staff and funding) what Biden and previous Democratic Presidents had done that was working, and then are now reinventing a wheel with the same types of initiatives that were already in place before they trashed them.
They have been living in a distorted and loony Faux Snooze/Newsmax/OAN "universe" that doesn't exist in the real world and are moving forward with "reforms" based on their bizarre assumptions.
And, there is where it all falls apart. 
The fact that some people have to be goaded into helping others, that we have to couch it in some religious meaning or whatever, that we have to be literally forced to lift a finger sometimes is why I do not have much faith in anything regarding humans or their ability to do more than 'survive'.
including those that were GUTTED by DOGEshit.
I.e., -
SAMHSA Cuts Will Kill – Doctors for America Calls for Reinstating Funding for Mental Health and Addiction Resources
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) provides critical support for Americans suffering from mental health conditions. This agency leads efforts to advance behavioral health, prevent substance misuse, and increase care for mental health and substance use disorders. Due to DOGE cuts, $1 billion in funding is being rescinded from SAMHSA. This cut in funding will reduce the SAMHSA workforce by 50%. These reductions in vital resources will lead to decreased access to mental health and substance use disorder treatment programs.
(snip)
Gutting the Government Could Reignite the Drug Overdose Epidemic
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Despite the secretary’s acknowledgment of the ongoing crisis, this progress is now imperiled by recent cuts that have been made to the workforce of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, or SAMHSA, by DOGE. It may be one of the smallest agencies in the federal government, but on the public health front, it’s been delivering bang for the buck, at least until now. In the recent round of cuts, SAMHSA reportedly lost more than 10 percent of its staff—100 probationary staffers out of a workforce of more than 600.
These cuts may seem insignificant, but SAMHSA plays an outsize role in the federal government’s response to the overdose crisis. The agency awards millions of dollars in grants to behavioral health care clinics, overdose prevention and outreach programs, substance use disorder treatment and recovery services, and tribal health care services, to name a few. These programs go beyond just monetary support, as SAMHSA provides training and technical assistance to these organizations as well.
For instance, its Center for Addiction and Recovery Support helps to train peer recovery support specialists (people who are in recovery who can assist others with substance use disorder). According to agency estimates, this agency trained around 2,500 people in 2024. Perhaps most importantly, SAMHSA ensures that opioid treatment providers, or OTPs, stay in compliance with federal regulations; a disruption to that workforce could have detrimental impacts on the ability of OTPs to operate. Finally, SAMHSA also provides services directly to individuals—namely, the 988 National Suicide and Crisis Line; employees who helped operate this line were reportedly laid off.
According to Representative Paul Tonko, these layoffs cut deep, cutting all staff in SAMHSA’s regions Four and Five (which encompass much of the Midwest, Appalachia, and the South). Representative Tonko cited an absence of staff on the website; since his letter, some of the staff profiles have returned to the site. Nonetheless, Tonko and others have also alarmingly heard word of further cuts (50 to 70 percent) to the agency.
(snip)
