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Faith and Community Engagement

Many SAMHSA programs are delivered in faith-based and community settings. SAMHSA's partnership with faith-based and community organizations supports resilience and recovery in substance use prevention and treatment, and mental health services, and demonstrates the effectiveness of local, grass-roots programs in eliciting positive changes in people's lives. These partnerships pave the way for individuals to become fully engaged in society.

two people praying over bible

The Role of SAMHSA

SAMHSA became one of the first agencies to undertake a specific faith-based and community initiative. The initiative emphasizes the key role faith-based and community partnerships play in the delivery of mental health, substance use prevention, intervention, treatment, and recovery services, particularly to historically underserved communities and culturally diverse populations.

Since 1993, SAMHSA actively engages and supports faith-based and community organizations through:

  • The Community Substance Abuse Prevention Partnership Program, which includes more than 800 faith-based community partners among its grantees.
  • Block and formula grant program funding, which are available through states to countless faith-based organizations that engage people with or at risk for mental health and substance use disorders.
  • SAMHSA-supported education and training programs, which not only support mental health services, substance use prevention and addiction treatment, but help create integrated, sustainable collaborations at the local and national level.

Building on Success

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Through a variety of funding mechanisms, SAMHSA supports the following programs carried out by faith-based and other community organizations at the national, state, and local levels:

  • Mental health services
  • Substance use prevention
  • Substance addiction treatment

The Projects for Assistance in Transition from Homelessness (PATH) provides funds from the SAMHSA Center for Mental Health Services to states and territories that, in turn, allocate money to local agencies. The funding provides services to persons with serious mental illnesses, including those with co-occurring substance abuse disorders who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. Many of the organizations that receive PATH funds are faith-based. The PATH program is unique since all locally-funded agencies coordinate their services with faith-based and community organizations serving homeless people with serious mental illnesses.

The faith community plays an important role in responding to disasters. Faith organizations have participated in SAMHSA disaster response programs, among them:

  • Catholic Charities during the Oklahoma bombing
  • Lutheran Social Services in tornado-related disasters
  • The Virgin Islands Baptist Church in responding to hurricanes

SAMHSA continues to host numerous conferences and training programs that help faith-based and community organizations enhance their work in providing mental health services, substance use prevention, intervention, treatment, and recovery.

This instructional tool (PDF | 236 KB) on substance use treatment for clergy and lay persons was designed with two goals in mind. The first is to educate clergy about the nature and extent of alcohol, tobacco and drug use, the process of becoming addicted, and approaches to preventing, intervening with and treating substance use. The second is to encourage clergy to take an active role in confronting substance use by sharing the experiences of other faith communities that have already done so.

Funding Opportunities

You can find grant announcements, training on how to apply for a new grant, and information on the grant review process, grants oversight, grants management, and a list of grant awards.

Resources

SAMHSA Faith-Based and Community Newsletter

Subscribe to monthly newsletters which include new tools, resources, grant opportunities, and updated information on SAMHSA programs.

SAMHSA Mental Health Resources for Faith-Based and Community Leaders

Faith and community leaders are often the first point of contact when individuals and families face mental health problems or traumatic events. In fact, in times of crisis, many will turn to trusted leaders in their communities before they turn to mental health professionals. Faith leaders who are able to recognize the signs of suicide, and know how to respond, can serve as an expanded safety net for those most in need.

Faith and community leaders can:

  • Educate communities and congregations about mental health
  • Identify opportunities to promote acceptance and support for people with mental illness
  • Connect people to help

Learn more about how to talk about mental health as a faith and community leader.

Read about Strengthening The Mental Health and Wellbeing of Tomorrow's Faith Leaders in Theological Educational Settings (PDF | 5.4 MB).

The HHS Center for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships (The Partnership Center)

SAMHSA's parent agency, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), has developed the HHS Center for Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships that integrates information from SAMHSA with faith-based and community initiatives from the Administration on Aging, Administration for Children and Families, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Health Resources and Services Administration, Indian Health Service, Office of Minority Health, and Office of Population Affairs.

The HHS Center for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships has produced the following publications:

For More Information

For more information about SAMHSA faith-based and community engagement, email engagement@samhsa.hhs.gov.

Last Updated: 12/11/2023
Source: https://www.samhsa.gov/communities/faith-based-community-engagement