News came Tuesday of a roughly $2 billion cut in federal grants meant for mental health and substance abuse treatment services. But within 24 hours the money had been restored.<\/p>\n
That quick change threw Alabama\u2019s mental health practitioners, many of whom rely on federal grants, into confusion. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s kind of a weird circumstance,\u201d said Kent Davis, executive director of Vets Recover and former commissioner of the state Department of Veterans Affairs. \u201cNever seen anything quite like that, but ultimately, I guess it\u2019s good news.\u201d<\/p>\n
On Tuesday night, more than 2,000 grantees around the country received letters, notifying them that their grants, administered by the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), were terminated because they didn\u2019t align with President Donald Trump\u2019s public health agenda, according to NPR<\/a>. <\/p>\n But by Wednesday night, a Trump administration official told NPR the grants were being restored, after swift backlash from congresspeople and mental health advocates across the country. <\/p>\n Vets Recover<\/a>, a nonprofit based in Mobile that specializes in mental health and substance abuse treatment for veterans and first responders, was set to lose around $100,000 in grant funds, according to Davis. <\/p>\n The money was earmarked for the group\u2019s education program, Davis said. Vets Recover does \u201cmental health first aid\u201d trainings, designed to provide everyday people with knowledge and skills to help someone experiencing a mental health crisis. <\/p>\n \u201cSometimes prevention is the best way to treat mental health issues, to just nip it in the bud,\u201d Davis said. \u201cThat\u2019s what this grant does.\u201d<\/p>\n Vets Recover had a handful of trainings lined up for the next couple of months that the group was planning to cancel, including one set for this weekend. Davis said the group had already canceled this weekend\u2019s workshop before they learned of the reversal. <\/p>\n While it will be rescheduled, the training still won\u2019t happen this weekend. <\/p>\n Still, Davis acknowledged that Vets Recover was in a better position than other mental health nonprofits that would have been forced to lay off staff or even shut down if they lost their grant funding. <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s nothing we can\u2019t overcome,\u201d Davis said before he learned the funds were restored. \u201cIt just affects our ability to educate the community.\u201d <\/p>\n Alabama was awarded more than $106 million from the substance abuse and mental health services administration in 2025, according to data from the administration. <\/p>\n The majority of those funds are allocated to the Alabama Department of Mental Health, to be awarded through the state agency. <\/p>\n But Alabama\u2019s congressional delegation was largely quiet amid the fury. Rep. Shomari Figures (D-Mobile) was the only member of Alabama\u2019s delegation that signed a letter<\/a> to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., asking the cuts be reversed. <\/p>\n \u201cAddressing mental health and substance use disorder prevention, treatment and recovery is a bipartisan priority,\u201d the letter said. \u201cThe work of SAMHSA is not a partisan priority. It should be a priority for every American, every member of Congress and every administration.\u201d<\/p>\n Rep. Terri Sewell (D-Birmingham) said she was \u201cthrilled\u201d that the cuts were reversed. <\/p>\n \u201cCongresswoman Sewell is thrilled that the Trump Administration bowed to public pressure and reversed its planned cuts to critical mental health and substance use grants,\u201d said Christopher Kosteva, a spokesperson for Sewell. \u201cShe will continue fighting to hold the Trump Administration accountable for slashing health care and other funding that Alabama communities rely on while shoveling new tax cuts to billionaires.\u201d<\/p>\n Representatives for the rest of Alabama\u2019s congressional delegation, including Sen. Katie Britt and Sen. Tommy Tuberville, could not be reached for comment. <\/p>\n