New $96M STREETS Program Targets Homelessness and Addiction

A new $96 million federal program called STREETS will focus on individuals experiencing homelessness and living with an addiction and/or serious mental illness. These folks are some of the hardest-to-reach people in need of dual diagnosis treatment.

STREETS is the centerpiece of a broader $700 million behavioral health investment that Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. announced on June 17, 2026, at the Easterseals MORC treatment center in Clinton Township, Michigan.

Kennedy’s announcement in Michigan proved timely. The Wolverine State, like many others throughout the country, already has many programs dedicated to those impacted by substance abuse. However, all too often, vulnerable groups like the unhoused fall through the cracks. 

That’s where STREETS comes in. This initiative expands on existing bills to extend addiction care to anyone seeking integrated services. Addiction, serious mental illness and homelessness are deeply connected and are best addressed together.

The STREETS Program

STREETS, short for Safety Through Recovery, Engagement, and Evidence-based Treatment and Support, will direct its $96 million to eight communities. Each can receive up to $3 million a year over four years to build multisector care systems that combine treatment, housing assistance and outreach for homeless individuals living with substance use disorders and mental illness.

Participating communities must coordinate among health care providers, local governments, law enforcement and courts with measurable accountability requirements. Given the shortage of mental health providers impacting communities across the nation, federal officials want to reduce reliance on emergency rooms, shelters and the justice system. At the same time, authorities can move people toward long-term recovery and stable housing.

Applications will open in the coming weeks, with awards anticipated later this year.

Treating Homelessness, Addiction, and Mental Illness Together Matters

For people living with both a substance use disorder and a mental health condition, fragmented care has long stymied those needing care. Someone may get help for one condition in one place and the other somewhere else, with no coordination. Furthermore, a lack of transitional housing can unravel any progress.

The program’s design reflects what clinicians have argued for years: behavioral and mental health are often entangled with addictions. In addition, treating only one condition, like cannabis dependency, often leaves underlying mental conditions unchecked. Adding housing and outreach to the mix targets the instability that frequently derails treatment for unhoused people.

This combined approach reflects the need to address dual diagnosis, also called co-occurring disorders. Basically, a dual diagnosis is when an individual has a substance use disorder alongside a mental health condition such as depression, anxiety or bipolar disorder. The two often feed each other. Untreated depression can drive opioid use, and heavy substance use can worsen mental health symptoms.

Integrated treatment addresses both at once within a single coordinated plan, rather than forcing a person to tackle them separately. Evidence-based approaches commonly include behavioral therapy, trauma counseling to prevent addictions and any appropriate medication assisted treatment.

The Wider Investment for Treatment Seekers

Beyond STREETS, an additional $612 million will fund broader behavioral health programs nationwide, including suicide prevention and substance abuse treatment. SAMHSA official Christopher D. Carroll pointed to Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics as a cornerstone for advancing the initiative’s goals.

The package marks the first major rollout of the Great American Recovery Initiative and reopens federal funding eligibility to faith-based recovery organizations.

It’s also a departure from the previous administration’s emphasis on harm reduction; Kennedy criticized approaches like needle exchanges and safe injection sites. However, decades of research from the National Institute on Drug Abuse have found needle-exchange programs reduce infectious disease transmission without increasing nearby crime.

For Treatment Seekers

Whether a given community wins a STREETS grant, the program signals growing recognition that addiction, mental illness and housing instability requires simultaneous treatment. People facing more than one of these challenges don’t have to choose which to address first, and integrated care is available now.

Find dual diagnosis treatment programs and mental health treatment facilities in your area, including residential and outpatient behavioral treatment centers that treat depression, anxiety, and addiction together. 

To get started, simply dial 800-908-4823 (Sponsored) for comprehensive mental health and addiction treatment options. Or, search our directory for verified centers listed throughout the USA.

Author

Eric Owens

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Eric Owens has been a writer and editor for various businesses as well as his own successful websites. He has extensive experience creating content in the health and wellness space and the sustainability space. He holds a bachelor degree in Philosophy which helped him with presenting complex information in a simple way that all audiences can understand.

Editor

Peter Lee, PhD

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Peter W.Y. Lee is a writer and historian of American history during the Cold War. His primary focus is the relationship between youth and popular culture and its impact on U.S. society during the twentieth century. He has published widely on how the public has used popular culture as a mechanism to address political and social shifts throughout time