Statewide Consumer Network Grants

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has announced that it will award approximately a dozen Statewide Consumer Network Grants of up to $70,000 each, with total program funding estimated at $840,000 in FY2009.

The program is intended to “enhance statewide consumer run organizations to promote service system capacity and infrastructure development to be consumer-centered and targeted toward recovery and resiliency, and consumer-driven by promoting the use of consumers as agents of transformation,” according to SAMHSA. The grants should be used to “address the needs of underserved and underrepresented consumers; of consumers with histories of trauma, veterans, or those who have been involved in the criminal-justice system; and/or to promote activities related to partnership development, coalition building, legacy planning, and economic empowerment as part of the recovery process for consumers,” the grant announcement stressed.

Application deadline is May 21. Nonprofits, government entities, and other organizations dedicated to improving mental-health services statewide may apply. Groups must be governed by a board of directors with at least 50 percent consumers. Current recipients of Statewide Consumer Network Grants may not apply.

For more information, see the full grant announcement online.