Trump Terminates Hundreds of SAMHSA Grants, Threatening Mental Health, Addiction Services Nationwide

The Trump administration has abruptly terminated hundreds of federal grants that support mental health and substance use disorder services nationwide, a move that advocates and providers warn could immediately disrupt frontline care for some of the country’s most vulnerable populations.¹

Late Tuesday, nonprofit organizations across the US began receiving termination letters notifying them that their grants from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) were canceled effective immediately, NPR reported. The grants fund a wide range of services, including overdose prevention, naloxone distribution, peer recovery support, and outreach to people experiencing homelessness, addiction, and serious mental illness.

Advocacy groups are amplifying concerns over the abrupt cancellation of federal mental health and substance use grants, warning that the move undermines years of bipartisan congressional efforts to strengthen the nation’s behavioral health system, according to a statement from the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI).² Early estimates suggest roughly $2 billion in grants were terminated overnight, despite sustained bipartisan support in Congress to expand mental health funding amid record overdose deaths, rising suicide rates, and growing demand for care.

"These cuts are disheartening and cruel, and they threaten the life-saving work of hundreds of organizations that provide critical mental health support across the United States,” Daniel H. Gillison Jr, CEO of NAMI, said in the statement. “Addressing our mental health and substance use crises in this country has never been political, which is why it continues to have bipartisan support in Congress. These abrupt and unjustified cuts will immediately disrupt suicide prevention efforts, family and peer recovery support, overdose prevention and treatment, and mental health awareness and education programming, along with so many more essential services, putting an unknown number of lives at stake. These aren't just numbers on paper. These are decisions that have real and harmful consequences for millions of people and communities around the country."

The notices specify that grants are terminated as of January 13 and warn that “costs resulting from financial obligations incurred after termination are not allowable,” leaving organizations little to no time to wind down operations or secure alternative funding.¹

"Waking up to nearly $2 billion in grant cancellations means frontline providers are forced to cease overdose prevention, naloxone distribution, and peer recovery services immediately, leaving our communities defenseless against a raging crisis," Ryan Hampton, founder of Mobilize Recovery, a national advocacy nonprofit for people in or seeking recovery, told NPR. "This cruelty will be measured in lives lost, as recovery centers shutter and the safety net we built is slashed overnight. We are witnessing the dismantling of our recovery infrastructure in real-time, and the administration will have blood on its hands for every preventable death that follows."

The National Association of County Behavioral Health and Developmental Disability Directors told its members that it believes more than 2000 grants nationwide are affected. The group said it is still working to assess the full scope of the cuts and their implications for county-run and community-based services.

The grant terminations come amid broader federal actions affecting behavioral health funding. Last year, the Republican-controlled Congress passed deep Medicaid cuts that have already strained many mental health and addiction treatment providers, particularly those serving low-income populations. Providers now warn that the combined effect of Medicaid reductions and sudden grant cancellations could unravel the nation’s behavioral health safety net, NPR reported.

The cuts also come as the federal government continues to promote the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline as a cornerstone of the nation’s mental health emergency response system. However, the administration has reportedly laid off more than 100 employees at the agency responsible for overseeing 988, raising additional concerns about capacity and oversight.

NPR’s requests for comment from SAMHSA and the Department of Health and Human Services were not immediately returned. Meanwhile, providers and advocates say the immediate impact of the grant terminations could be felt on the streets and in emergency departments within days, as programs scale back or shut down altogether.

References

1. Mann B. Trump administration sends letter wiping out addiction, mental health grants. NPR. January 14, 2026. Accessed January 14, 2026. https://www.npr.org/2026/01/14/nx-s1-5677104/trump-administration-letter-terminating-addiction-mental-health-grant
2. NAMI reacts to abrupt termination of SAMHSA grants. News release. NAMI. January 14, 2026. Accessed January 14, 2026. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/nami-reacts-to-abrupt-termination-of-samhsa-grants-302661561.html