BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Hundreds of health organizations across the country received termination letters Tuesday night from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
Administration, canceling congressionally-appropriated grants that fund critical mental health and substance use services. However, within hours, NPR reported the cuts were being reversed according to a Trump administration official.
The back-and-forth has left several Western New York agencies uncertain about their funding status for programs that serve millions of Americans.
"Everything from screenings into schools, to addiction medicine, to trauma training for children impacted by trauma," said Brandy Vandermark, president of Horizon Health, describing the scope of services potentially affected.
Horizon Health, Western New York's largest provider of outpatient mental health and substance use treatment, is among the many agencies impacted by the federal grant confusion.
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, a sub-agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, notified grant recipients in emailed letters Tuesday night that their funding would be canceled effective immediately, according to several copies received by organizations and reviewed by the Associated Press.
"It really is a broad spectrum of impact, and I think what we're doing is still learning the details today of how many providers and partners in Western New York will be impacted by this," Vandermark said.
The potential cuts would have significant consequences for the mental health field.
"It is catastrophic to the field. We are already in a field that is underfunded. We are already preparing for individuals to perhaps have impact on their insurance in the upcoming years. So, any loss of funding to the field really puts our patients and our community at risk when it comes to mental health and substances," Vandermark said.
Officials with the Erie County Health Department said "The First Responders-Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act", a four-year, $2 million grant, was terminated without warning Tuesday night. The funding helps train first responders in use, fentanyl exposure safety and Narcan distribution and runs through September.
Spectrum Health also said:
Spectrum Health was in the final year of a SAMHSA-funded program that is providing life-saving education about substance use and overdose. The work being done by this team was saving lives in Erie County.
Cindy Voelker
President/CEO of Spectrum Health
