U.S. Announces Over $700 Million for Addiction and Mental Health Programs

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced more than $700 million in new federal funding on Wednesday to address addiction and mental illness. The announcement took place at the Easterseals behavioral health clinic in Clinton Township, Michigan.

The funding forms part of the Great American Recovery Initiative that President Donald Trump established through an executive order in January 2025. Of the total, $96 million will support the Safety Through Recovery, Engagement, and Evidence-based Treatment and Support Program, known as the STREETS initiative.

Eight communities will each receive up to $3 million over four years to develop care systems for people experiencing homelessness alongside substance use disorders or serious mental illness.

The remaining $612 million will go to other behavioral health programs focused on suicide prevention, substance abuse treatment, and mental health services. The investments target community-based behavioral healthcare across the country. “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,” Kennedy said.

Kathryn Burgum, White House senior adviser for addiction recovery and wife of Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, described her own 24-year recovery from alcohol addiction. Monty Burks, HHS Center for Faith director, said faith-based organizations had been “systematically removed from the healing process in their own communities” in previous years.

The Trump administration began restoring such funding through federal grants last year.

Kennedy said faith-based organizations “are once again encouraged and eligible” to receive funds, while secular groups such as Easterseals will also continue to receive support.