If you’re like me—a clinical substance use counselor and someone in recovery—this latest funding bombshell from SAMHSA isn’t just numbers on a page. It’s a gut punch to the programs and people we rely on every single day.
Without warning, nearly $2 billion in grants that support substance use disorder (SUD) treatment and mental health services nationwide have been abruptly cut or terminated. Wisconsin is staring down a loss of more than $225 million in federal funding for programs that have helped turn the tide on overdose deaths, support families in crisis, and keep recovery on track for thousands.
Let’s clear the air upfront: this isn’t just a future funding squeeze. Hundreds of grants were abruptly terminated recently—meaning funding for ongoing projects stopped cold. This sudden pullback is not only destabilizing but downright reckless.
At the same time, many other grants face steep cuts or elimination in the upcoming fiscal year 2026. These include block grants, prevention programs, treatment initiatives, and recovery support services—programs awarded based on documented needs and bipartisan Congressional appropriations.
According to the Department of Health and Human Services, these terminations came because some projects were deemed “no longer aligned with agency priorities.” But those priorities clash with the urgent, documented needs of communities battling record-high overdose deaths and mental health crises.
Wisconsin, like many states, is fighting back—joining a coalition suing to block these terminations and pressing Congress to restore funding during the appropriations process.
Breaking Down the Grants: What Types Are on the Chopping Block?
SAMHSA’s grants fall into several broad buckets, each critical in its own right:
- Block Grants: These are large, flexible funds awarded to states to support a wide range of mental health and substance use services. While not all block grants were cut outright, many face severe reductions or uncertainty for 2026, threatening the backbone of state programs.
- Prevention and Overdose Programs: Funding that supports harm reduction, overdose prevention, and education initiatives is facing sharp cuts. Nationally, about $350 million was cut from addiction and overdose-prevention funding, with Wisconsin programs at risk of losing significant chunks.
- Treatment Grants: These support clinics, medication-assisted treatment (MAT), counseling, and wraparound services. Cuts here directly impact the availability and quality of care.
- Recovery Support and Housing: Grants that fund sober housing, peer recovery coaching, and community supports—like the recent $45 million awarded in Wisconsin for young adult sober housing—are on the line. Losing these puts early recovery stability at risk.
- Advocacy and Mental Health Watchdog Programs: Programs that monitor quality and protect rights, like Wisconsin’s Protection and Advocacy for Individuals with Mental Illness, are expected to lose more than 60% of their funding next year.
Why Wisconsin Feels This Harder Than Most
This isn’t just a national problem playing out in a vacuum. Wisconsin’s overdose and fentanyl crisis is severe, and these grants have been a lifeline.
- Our rural communities rely heavily on federal dollars to bring mental health and substance use services where state resources can’t reach.
- Wisconsin’s innovative school-based mental health initiatives, which have helped hundreds of students, face funding wipes that could force cuts or closures.
- Local budgets are already strained. Recently, Republicans cut $10 million from school-based mental health after requests for increases. Layer on federal cuts, and the system faces collapse.
- The state’s mental health watchdog groups, crucial for oversight, are losing the funds needed to keep programs accountable and effective.
The Human Side: Stories from the Frontlines of Recovery
I’ve seen firsthand what these programs mean—not just as a counselor but as someone deeply embedded in this community. I’m currently offering pro bono recovery coaching services to help expand access because I know what it’s like when resources vanish and people are left hanging. Recovery isn’t some abstract concept; it’s a daily grind of finding stability, battling triggers, and rebuilding a life piece by piece.
Take, for example, “Sarah” (name changed). She’s a young adult in early recovery who found a lifeline through sober housing funded by SAMHSA grants. That housing gave her a stable place to heal, connect with peers, and get back on her feet. Without that, her chances of relapse skyrocket. This story mirrors countless others I’ve coached—people who rely on these supports to keep moving forward, day after day.
Recovery coaching is about more than just motivation. It’s helping clients navigate complex systems, secure housing, find jobs, and rebuild relationships. When funds dry up, those lifelines fray, and the ripple effects are devastating.
Concrete Data: What’s at Stake in Wisconsin
Numbers don’t lie. Wisconsin saw a 14% drop in overdose deaths in 2023, a win driven largely by the prevention and treatment programs funded through SAMHSA grants. These programs serve thousands annually—providing medication-assisted treatment (MAT), overdose reversal training, crisis intervention, and peer recovery support.
- The Protection and Advocacy for Individuals with Mental Illness program in Wisconsin faces a cut of over 60% in its 2026 budget, threatening legal and advocacy services for some of the most vulnerable.
- Recovery housing programs, vital for young adults in early recovery, received $45 million recently from SAMHSA, a lifeline now hanging in the balance.
- Overdose prevention programs, which include distributing naloxone (Narcan) and training community members, face cuts nationally totaling $350 million, with Wisconsin programs deeply affected.
These aren’t just abstract budget lines. They represent real people—mothers, fathers, neighbors—whose lives these programs have saved or stabilized.
Why Federal Funding Matters: Busting Myths and Breaking Stigma
A common misconception is that addiction and recovery are purely personal failings or family issues. That’s dead wrong. Substance use disorder is a complex medical condition that requires comprehensive support systems.
Federal funding isn’t a handout—it’s the backbone of public health infrastructure for mental health and addiction services, especially in rural and underserved areas like many parts of Wisconsin. State budgets and private funding can’t fill these gaps alone.
Programs funded by SAMHSA provide access to evidence-based treatments, peer recovery coaching, crisis intervention, and housing supports. These are the practical tools that help people rebuild lives and reduce the enormous societal costs of untreated addiction—like emergency medical care, incarceration, and lost productivity.
When these funds get cut, it’s not just budgets shrinking—it’s recovery chances shrinking.
Voices from the Frontlines
The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Wisconsin released a statement expressing deep disappointment, urging leaders to prevent these cuts because they threaten the very services that save lives and support recovery.
Senator Tammy Baldwin called the cuts “catastrophic,” highlighting how they undermine Wisconsin’s fight against the opioid epidemic and mental health crises.
These aren’t partisan complaints—they are grounded in the real-world impact on public health and safety.
What This Means for Counselors and People in Recovery
As someone in the trenches, this hits home hard:
- Job security and resources are on the line. Programs losing funding risk layoffs, and the loss of training and materials makes our jobs harder.
- Caseloads will spike. Fewer programs and staff mean longer waitlists and less individual attention for people who need help now.
- Clients lose lifelines. Recovery housing, crisis lines, peer support, and overdose prevention programs keep people alive and sober. Cut those, and relapse, overdose, and death rates climb.
- The ripple effect. When prevention and recovery supports falter, entire communities suffer—families, workplaces, schools.
What We Still Don’t Know—and Why We Need to Stay Vigilant
There’s uncertainty about how Congress will respond in the coming weeks. Will these funds be restored? Will legal challenges succeed? The landscape is still shifting.
That means staying informed, engaged, and vocal is crucial. The people in recovery and those who support them can’t afford to be silent.
A Vision Forward: What Restored Funding Could Mean
Imagine a Wisconsin where:
- Every person seeking help can access evidence-based treatment without delays.
- Recovery housing is widely available to stabilize people in early recovery.
- Schools have robust mental health programs that catch issues early and reduce crises.
- The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline is fully staffed and responsive 24/7.
- Counselors and peer coaches have the resources and training to do their best work.
Restoring and expanding these funds isn’t just a wish—it’s a necessity if we want to keep moving forward in this fight.
What Can You Do?
- Call your U.S. Representatives and Senators. Tell them Wisconsin needs these funds restored to protect lives and recovery.
- Support local programs. Volunteer, donate, or advocate for organizations filling the gaps.
- Spread the word. Share this information widely to build awareness and pressure.
- Build community. Recovery thrives on connection—use your networks to organize support and action.
This isn’t just a budget issue—it’s about survival. For those of us who have faced addiction and fought for recovery, these cuts strike at the heart of what keeps us going.
We can’t let these programs fall. We owe it to ourselves, our clients, and our communities to fight back.
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