HHS Sends $500,000 Each to Three States for Faith-Based Prevention

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on Tuesday announced $1.5 million in supplemental substance use prevention funding split among three states, with Alabama, Kansas and West Virginia each receiving an additional $500,000 to deepen the role of faith-based organizations in reaching young people.

The awards, made through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, supplement the states' existing Strategic Prevention Framework–Partnerships for Success grants. The announcement came during an event that brought together HHS officials, state leadership and community partners.

"Every child deserves the chance to grow up free from addiction," HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. said in a statement. "Prevention begins with strong families, strong communities, and a sense of purpose. Faith leaders are uniquely positioned to reach young people at a critical point in their lives."

What each state plans to do with the money

Kansas and West Virginia will use the supplemental funds to build new partnerships with faith communities, conduct needs assessments and co-develop prevention strategic plans alongside faith leaders — with young people involved in the process from the first day, according to HHS.

Alabama's plan differs in emphasis. The state will run regional needs assessments examining how faith-based prevention shapes youth attitudes and where gaps in resources remain. The funding also lets Alabama's certified Faith-Based Support Specialists expand to a population they have not previously served: young people ages 12 to 17.

"Effective prevention starts with understanding what young people are facing and building strategies around the needs of their communities," said Dr. Timothy Westlake, SAMHSA's chief of staff.

Part of the Great American Recovery initiative

HHS framed the awards as a component of President Trump's Great American Recovery, the addiction-response initiative co-chaired by Kennedy and White House Senior Advisor for Addiction Recovery Kathryn Burgum. The department said the funding also aligns with the president's executive order on ending crime and disorder on America's streets.

"The Great American Recovery starts in our communities, where connection, purpose, and hope can change the course of a person's life," Burgum said. "This funding recognizes the powerful role faith communities can play in creating a culture where young people feel supported, find a sense of belonging, and are empowered to make healthy choices."

Dr. Monty Burks, director of the HHS Center for Faith, struck a similar note, saying the federal role is to equip work that congregations already do rather than replace it. "Faith communities have been doing this work for generations — walking alongside families, mentoring young people, helping people find purpose, and responding when their neighbors are struggling," he said.

The emphasis on faith-based approaches has been a recurring thread in the administration's drug policy. The White House's draft National Drug Control Strategy earlier this year explicitly endorsed integrating faith-based treatment into the national response.

Prevention dollars keep flowing from SAMHSA

Tuesday's announcement is the latest in a rapid series of behavioral health funding rounds. In August, SAMHSA awarded more than $22 million in substance use prevention grants, including support for state-level Partnerships for Success programs. A week before the faith-based supplements, the agency distributed $383.4 million across 988 lifeline, crisis and addiction services to mark 988 Day.

The Partnerships for Success program funds community-based prevention designed to strengthen protective factors, reduce risk factors and build resilience among young people. SAMHSA has described the model as most effective when rooted in communities and carried out by people residents already know and trust.

Prevention advocates have long argued that upstream spending is the cheapest point of intervention in the addiction crisis, particularly as the nation works to hold recent declines in overdose deaths. Whether the faith-based supplements produce measurable changes in youth substance use will depend on the needs assessments and strategic plans the three states deliver over the coming grant year.

Anyone struggling with substance use or in crisis can call or text 988, or chat at 988lifeline.org. Treatment providers can be located through FindTreatment.gov.