On August 27, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced in a press briefing that the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) is awarding $19 million in new supplemental funding through the Community Mental Health Services Block Grant to address the intersection of homelessness and serious mental illness (SMI).
According to HHS, a key priority of this initiative is enhancing cross-system capacity to support individuals with a history of non-adherence to voluntary outpatient treatment and/or anosognosia—a disorder that prevents them from recognizing their mental illness—by utilizing tools such as Assisted Outpatient Treatment (AOT) programs.
“Americans living on the streets with serious mental illness deserve real care and support,” said HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. in a statement. “This funding drives action. We are tackling the root causes of homelessness head-on to restore dignity, build stability, and open the path to recovery.”
“This investment will help build data-driven capacity at the state and local level and is critical to make our communities safer and healthier,” said SAMHSA Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Dr. Art Kleinschmidt in a statement.
According to the news brief, this funding advances the President’s Executive Order regarding Ending Crime and Disorder on America’s Streets.
