Overview
- HHS unveiled more than $700 million in behavioral‑health funding and opened a new $96 million STREETS grant to support eight communities with up to $3 million a year for four years to develop coordinated street‑outreach and treatment systems.
- The STREETS program limits direct applicants to cities, counties and federally recognized tribal governments, requires grantees to begin services within six months, and bars certain harm‑reduction activities under a July 2025 executive order.
- The broader package names specific allocations including $223.1 million for Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics, $238.6 million for the 988 crisis lifeline, about $80 million for substance‑use programs, and more than $70 million for mental health services.
- Critics and behavioral‑health experts say much of the announced money appears to be the long‑delayed release or reallocation of previously authorized grants rather than entirely new congressional appropriations.
- The funding could expand local outreach and crisis response, but experts warn workforce shortages, limited treatment capacity and slow grant start‑up will constrain how quickly people living on the streets see stable housing or sustained care.