Dora Dantzler-Wright and colleagues provide overdose reversal drugs and recovery support in Chicago but have lost communication with federal agency SAMHSA. The group relies on SAMHSA's funding and support, which is now threatened by projected 50% staffing cuts. With 900 employees and a crucial $7.2 billion budget, SAMHSA is essential for addressing addiction and mental health issues nationwide. The loss of federal oversight leaves organizations like the Chicago Recovering Communities Coalition feeling abandoned, raising concerns about the future of addiction recovery efforts amid reduced federal engagement.
Every day, Dora Dantzler-Wright and her colleagues distribute overdose reversal drugs on the streets of Chicago. They hold training sessions on using them and help people in recovery from drug and alcohol addiction return to their jobs and families.
But over the last few weeks, Ms. Wright's phone calls and emails to Washington have gone unanswered. Federal advisers from the agency's local office who supervise her group are gone.
By the end of this week, the staff of the agency, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, could be cut by 50 percent, according to senior staff members and congressional aides.
With just under 900 employees and a budget of $7.2 billion for large state grants and individual nonprofits that address addiction and mental illness, SAMHSA addresses two of the nation's most urgent health problems.
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