Overnight and without warning, the Trump administration cut roughly $2 billion from mental health and addiction programs, leaving providers and millions of patients without immediate support. The cuts, announced by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration within HHS, are “vast,” according to STAT and NPR. Nonprofits providing street-level care for addiction, homelessness, and mental illness were hit hardest.
Ryan Hampton, founder of Mobilize Recovery, said providers must immediately halt overdose prevention, naloxone distribution, and peer recovery services. His organization alone lost $500,000 overnight. The Guardian reported the cuts will disrupt overdose prevention, school-based mental health services, maternal care, and recovery programs nationwide. Critics warn the decision will cost lives and deepen the opioid and mental health crises.