On Thursday, July 24, the Trump Administration issued an executive order, Ending Crime and Disorder on America’s Streets, and corresponding fact sheet. Among other directives, the executive order calls on the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to “ensure that Federal funds for Federally Qualified Health Centers and Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics reduce rather than promote homelessness by supporting, to the maximum extent permitted by law, comprehensive services for individuals with serious mental illness and substance use disorder, including crisis intervention services.”
The executive order also directs HHS to “ensure that discretionary grants issued by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration for substance use disorder prevention, treatment and recovery fund evidence-based programs and do not fund programs that fail to achieve adequate outcomes, including so-called ‘harm reduction’ or ‘safe consumption’ efforts that only facilitate illegal drug use and its attendant harm.” Executive orders carry the force of law upon enactment, meaning these policies are effective as of July 24, 2025.
AAPP supports and will continue to advocate for funding, access, and delivery of harm reduction services to prevent substance-use related injury, disease, overdose, and misuse. We believe harm reduction is an evidence-based practice that focuses on health promotion and risk reduction through practical public health interventions including reductions in infection disease transmission, increased access to physical and mental health treatment, provision of lifesaving tools (e.g., naloxone), and reducing stigma associated with substance use.