‘This Cruelty Will Be Measured in Lives Lost’: Trump Axes $2 Billion in Mental Health, Addiction Grants

The Trump administration, which has claimed its illegal boat bombing spree in international waters and assault on Venezuela were motivated by a deep desire to combat the drug overdose crisis in the US, moved late Tuesday to eliminate up to $2 billion worth of federal grants supporting mental health and addiction services across the country.

Organizations that provide street-level support to people experiencing mental health crises, homelessness, and addiction said they were notified of the cuts overnight in the form of emailed grant termination letters.

NPR first reported the cuts by the US Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), which is overseen by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The estimated $2 billion in cuts represents roughly a quarter of SAMHSA's budget.

Ryan Hampton, founder of the nonprofit Mobilize Recovery, told NPR that his group is out $500,000 because of the Trump administration's move, which could impact thousands of organizations nationwide.

"Waking up to nearly $2 billion in grant cancellations means front-line providers are forced to cease overdose prevention, naloxone distribution, and peer recovery services immediately, leaving our communities defenseless against a raging crisis," Hampton said. "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."

Jonathan Cohn of The Bulwark reported that impacted organizations "had applied for these grants, had them approved, and were operating with the funds—and then, on Tuesday night, received notices that those grants had been terminated."

"The affected programs include ones that provide services like housing and peer support for people who are in recovery, as well as ones that train substance abuse professionals," Cohn observed.

Yngvild Olsen, a national adviser at Manatt Health and former director of SAMHA’s Center for Substance Abuse Treatment, told Cohn that the cuts mean "tens of thousands of people" will "lose access to services" and many providers will "lose access to their training and technical assistance resources."

"These organizations are going to have to lay off staff," Olsen warned. "They don't have high margins and other sources of funding that they can necessarily turn to. I heard from one grantee that said she doesn't know how she's going to pay staff and bills.”

News outlets that reviewed the grant termination emails sent out late Tuesday reported that the administration characterized the funding as out of step with its priorities, even as the White House claims it is waging a righteous war on the drug overdose crisis.

"Every boat that we knock out, we save 25,000 American lives," President Donald Trump claimed, without evidence, during an October press conference. "So when you think of it that way, what we're doing is actually an act of kindness."

US Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) said in a statement Wednesday that, in light of the massive grant cuts to mental health and addiction-related grants, "this administration’s claims about taking on the opioid crisis couldn’t be more hollow."

“So much for Make America Healthy Again and saving Americans from addiction and suicide," said Murray. "This decision is going to mean real people in Washington state and every part of the country do not get the care and treatment they are counting on—and that could save their life. Republicans must join me in demanding these cuts be reversed.”