SAMHSA Homeless Services

The Alliance works in partnership with the Corporation for Supportive Housing, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, Enterprise Community Partners, and the National AIDS Housing Coalition, to increase resources available for homeless services administered by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Efforts are being made to increase federal funding within SAMHSA homeless programs, including the Grants for the Benefit of Homeless Individuals (GBHI) program, the Treatment Systems for Homeless program, and the Projects for Assistance in Transition from Homelessness (PATH) program.

Efforts are also underway to authorize the Services to End Long-Term Homelessness Act (SELHA) and to create a System of Care for homeless populations living with mental illness. SELHA would create a new program within SAMHSA to fund an array of services in permanent supportive housing, with a focus on helping people move towards recovery and self-sufficiency. A System of Care for homeless populations would give states, counties, and cities funding to develop, within their existing mental health system, the infrastructure necessary to provide coordinated social services to mentally ill homeless individuals, families, and youth.

Programs that link affordable housing with the appropriate level of supportive services are proving to be effective for all homeless populations. However, the largest obstacle for many communities to continue making progress toward ending homelessness is funding the services.

An increase in resources for services is needed to overcome HUD’s preference for funding housing capital needs over services and barriers to mainstream programs, such as Medicaid, welfare, Medicare, and general substance abuse and mental health services funds.

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Funding
At the end of September, President Bush signed a stopgap funding measure into law. The legislation provides level funding from FY 2008 for most areas, including SAMHSA, through March 6, 2009. When Congress returns in early 2009, it will address appropriations for the remainder of FY 2009.

Previously, the full House Appropriations Committee began consideration of the FY 2009 Labor, Health and Human Services Appropriations bill, which included $75 million for supportive services in SAMHSA Homeless Programs (the Grants for the Benefit of Homeless Individuals (GBHI) and Treatment Systems for Homeless programs)—a $21.4 million increase over last year’s level. The bill also included a $6.7 million increase for the PATH program. The mark-up was stalled for political reasons after Republicans tried to force the committee to take up another bill.

The Senate Appropriations Committee finished its mark up of the Labor, Health and Human Services and Education Appropriations bill on June 26. The bill's allocations include level funding of $55.9 million for SAMHSA Homeless Programs, as well as the same $6.7 million increase for the PATH program as the House.

No further action is expected until next year.

Authorizing SELHA
Both SELHA and elements of the System of Care proposal were included in the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions committee’s initial draft of the SAMHSA reauthorization. Unfortunately, this bill was not moved forward and is not expected to move forward in 2008. The House has not begun work on SAMHSA reauthorization. The Alliance and our partners are developing a strategy for moving these proposals forward in the next Congress.