New Hampshire mental health providers and school districts experienced a chaotic 24 hours this week when the Trump administration abruptly canceled, then reinstated, approximately $2 billion in federal grants supporting addiction and mental health services nationwide. The episode, which unfolded between Tuesday night and Wednesday evening, left organizations scrambling before funding was ultimately restored following what sources described as a political backlash.
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration sent termination letters late Tuesday to more than 2,000 grant recipients across the country, including at least three New Hampshire organizations. NAMI New Hampshire, along with the Manchester and Concord school districts, all received notices stating their grants no longer aligned with the administration's priorities, effective immediately. Susan Stearns, executive director for NAMI New Hampshire, said the organization received termination notices for critical programs including crisis intervention training for first responders and services through the Children's Mental Health Initiative. "This leaves people scrambling," Stearns said. "I'm sure our colleagues from the community, mental health centers who have those subcontracts, are scrambling for how to transition those young people."
The Manchester School District received perhaps the most jarring notification: a termination letter arriving at 2:06PM on Wednesday morning that eliminated $4.8 million in funding for what Superintendent Jennifer Chimel described as "critical" mental health services. The grant, which wasn't scheduled to expire until 2028, supported eight positions serving students dealing with anxiety, depression, suicidal ideation, housing and food insecurity, and substance use. In the six months prior to the cancellation, mental health clinicians had referred 1,524 students to behavioral health intervention teams.
Just over 1,000 middle and high school students sought help on their own in the past year, Chimel said, underscoring how embedded these services had become in the district's support infrastructure.
Why This Disruption Matters
The termination letters offered minimal explanation beyond stating programs didn't align with administration priorities. Pam Walsh, chair of the Concord School Board, said their notification provided no specifics.
"The letter said they no longer aligned with the administration's priorities," she alleged in an interview on January 14th. "It did not say what those priorities were, really. It said there was nothing we could do to correct the grant because it didn't align with the priorities."
The vague justification and middle-of-the-night timing created immediate operational chaos. Organizations that depend on federal grants for day-to-day operations suddenly faced the prospect of laying off staff, canceling scheduled trainings, and turning away people seeking treatment without any transition period or alternative funding sources identified. For New Hampshire, which has struggled with both the opioid epidemic and limited mental health infrastructure, the potential loss represented a significant blow to already-strained systems. The grants fund everything from school-based mental health services to crisis response training for law enforcement—programs that took years to build and couldn't be easily replaced with state or local funding.
Dr. Yngvild Olsen, who served as director for the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment inside SAMHSA until July 2025, told NPR the turmoil raised questions about who was making key public health decisions. "My understanding is that much of the staff at SAMHSA was caught unaware," Olsen said. "These decisions were made without the input of experts in these programs and experts in this field."
The Reversal and Its Aftermath
By late Wednesday evening, less than 24 hours after the termination letters went out, a Trump administration official confirmed to NPR that the cuts were being reversed.
The rapid about-face came after what multiple sources described as intensive backroom negotiations and public pressure from both Republican and Democratic lawmakers. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, a Democrat from Connecticut, characterized the episode as emblematic of chaotic policymaking. "After national outrage, Secretary Kennedy has bowed to public pressure and reinstated $2 billion in SAMHSA grants that save lives," DeLauro said. "Our policy must be thoughtful, not haphazard and chaotic. This episode has only created uncertainty and confusion for families and health care providers."
Hannah Wesolowski with the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) expressed relief tempered with alarm. "After a day of panic across the country, non-profits and people with mental health conditions are deeply alarmed, but also hopeful that this money is being restored," she said.
For NAMI New Hampshire's Stearns, who has stewarded SAMHSA grants for over 35 years, the communication style marked a sharp departure from normal federal agency operations. "It is an unusual way for SAMHSA to communicate and, in my experience and in general, for federal agencies to communicate with very little notice and very little justification," she noted.
Lingering Questions
While funding was restored, the episode left mental health advocates shaken and uncertain about future stability. Organizations had already begun making difficult decisions. Some reportedly laid off employees or canceled scheduled programs during the brief window when cancellation seemed permanent.
The event also raised broader concerns about the Trump administration's approach to public health programs. For months, administration officials have signaled skepticism about current programs' effectiveness, but public health experts say there's been little communication with frontline providers about what changes might look like or when they might occur. For now, New Hampshire's mental health programs can continue operating. But the 24-hour disruption served as a stark reminder of how needed these services are.
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