Support for SAMHSA Funding Needed

Hello there! If you are new here, you might want to subscribe to our newsletter subscribe to our free newsletter or to the RSS feed for updates on this topic.

Action needed now to support SOAR
and adequate SAMHSA Funding!
Deadline to Sign Two Letters of Support
is December 12, 2008

The New Jersey Advocacy Network to End Homelessness encourages all of our members to join us and the National Alliance to End Homelessness (NAEH) in signing two letters to encourage Congress and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to support both the SOAR (SSI/SSDI Outreach, Access and Recovery) initiative and an increase in funding for SAMHSA homeless programs in the FY 2009 Appropriations Bill.

This includes the Grants for the Benefit of Homeless Individuals (GBHI) and Treatment Systems for Homeless programs which award grants for mental health and substance use services for homeless populations. Supportive housing programs often apply for these funds.

To sign on to both letters click here to Send an Email [Email address: skahn #AT# naeh.org - replace #AT# with @ ] to Sarah Kahn with the National Alliance to End Homelessness by Friday, December 12 if your organization will sign the letters. Please make sure to include in the email your name, organization, city, state, phone number, and email address.

More Information

Letter one will be sent to the House and Senate Labor, Health and Human Services (L-HHS) Appropriations Subcommittee (the committee responsible for SAMHSA) asking Congress to:

Include $77 million for SAMHSA homeless programs in the FY 2009 Appropriations Bill – a $21.4 million increase over the 2008 level.
And, direct SAMHSA to continue to fund the SOAR initiative, a very successful program which helps people experiencing homelessness access federal disability benefits.

Letter two will be sent to SAMHSA asking them to continue funding the SOAR initiative.

Click here for additional information about SAMHSA homeless services programs and click here to learn more about the SOAR initiative.

Background

Advocates have convinced Congress to increase funding for supportive services within SAMSHA homeless programs over the past few years which has resulted in new grants for supportive housing programs. However, obtaining funding for services remains to be one of the largest obstacles for communities to continue making progress toward ending homelessness. A greater federal investment is needed to both maintain current grants and develop new programs.

This year, the House Appropriations Committee began consideration of the FY 2009 L-HHS Appropriations Bill, which included $77 million for supportive services within SAMHSA Homeless Programs-a $21.4 million increase over last year’s level. This increase is $40 million above the President’s 2009 budget request for these programs and double the increase secured last year.

The Senate Appropriations Committee did not include an increase for SAMHSA homeless programs in their version of the bill. So, as the House and Senate reconcile differences in their bills, we will work with all of you to maintain the $21.4 million increase in the final bill.

Share with your social network!