Tell Congress to Safeguard Funding for Addiction & Mental Health

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Your Voice is Crucial to Protect Essential Services

Right now, federal funding for addiction and mental health services faces uncertainty. As Congress works on the upcoming budget (FY26) and administrative changes happen within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), including for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), it's critical that we speak up.

We must send a clear message: Vital addiction and mental health services need more support, not less.

These funds support essential treatment, prevention, recovery, and peer support programs in communities across the country. They help people access care, sustain recovery, and rebuild their lives. Cutting or disrupting this funding would reverse progress and leave millions of Americans without the support they rely on, especially during an ongoing public health crisis.

Your elected officials in Congress need to hear directly from constituents like you. Urge them to:

Protect existing funding for addiction and mental health recovery services.
Increase investment to meet the growing need.
Ensure no disruptions to SAMHSA grants and programs during any administrative changes.
Reject any cuts to these life-saving services in the FY26 budget.

Using the calling option? Click here for additional tips!

Know who your Representative and two Senators are. (You can use our lookup tool!)
Keep your call brief and focused. Your main goal is to register your position clearly. Every call makes a difference!
Remember: You will likely speak to a staff member. They track constituent calls, so your message will be relayed. Be polite and clear!

Identify Yourself: State your name and that you are a constituent from their district/state (mention your city/town).
State Your Purpose Clearly: You are calling about protecting and increasing federal funding for addiction and mental health services in the FY26 budget.
Mention the Context (Briefly): Reference the ongoing need/crisis and the importance of stable funding during HHS administrative changes (involving SAMHSA).
Highlight the Importance of Funding: Explain that SAMHSA funds (like block grants) support essential local services: treatment, prevention, recovery support, peer services. These save lives.
State Your Specific Asks:

Protect current funding levels.
Increase funding to meet the high demand.
Ensure funding continuity and reject any cuts, especially during administrative transitions.

Emphasize Impact: Funding cuts would harm communities, reverse progress, and leave millions of Americans without help. This is a critical public health issue.
Be Polite: Thank the staffer for their time and for passing on your concerns to the legislator.

"Hello, my name is [Your Name] and I'm a constituent calling from [Your City/Town].

I'm calling today to urge Senator/Representative [Legislator's Last Name] to please prioritize protecting and increasing federal funding for addiction and mental health services in the upcoming FY26 budget.

With the ongoing public health crisis and administrative changes happening at HHS involving SAMHSA, it's absolutely critical that funding for treatment, prevention, recovery, and peer support services is not cut or disrupted. These services are lifelines in our community.

(Optional: Add a brief personal sentence, if comfortable)

"This issue is important to me because..." (e.g., "...I've seen the impact on families in our area," or "...I believe strongly in supporting recovery," or "...access to mental healthcare is essential.")*

We need Congress to ensure these vital programs, like the SAMHSA block grants, remain fully funded and are even strengthened to meet the need.

Please ask the Senator/Representative to actively champion robust funding for addiction and mental health services and to reject any potential cuts during the budget process.

Thank you for your time and for relaying my message."

Thank you!