Block Grants for Community Mental Health Services Award Summary

The Maine Department of Health and Human Services received a $1,391,993 Block Grant for Community Mental Health Services from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) Center for Mental Health Services under CFDA 93.958, effective October 1, 2025, through September 30, 2027. This block grant enables Maine to deliver comprehensive community-based mental health services to adults with serious mental illness and children with serious emotional disturbances. The award supports a range of evidence-based interventions including outpatient counseling, crisis intervention, case management, housing assistance, peer support services, and workforce training initiatives deployed through a network of qualified community mental health providers across Maine.

Maine DHHS distributed funds through three sub-awards to specialized service providers: Commonspace, Sweetser, and Motivational Services Inc., each designated to operate and manage peer recovery centers. These sub-awardees provide structured peer support services, recovery-focused programming, peer-run social clubs, and linkages to community resources that support recovery and integration for individuals with serious mental illness and co-occurring substance use disorders. The peer recovery centers operate according to Consumer-Operated Service Program (COSP) models and community standards, ensuring culturally responsive and consumer-directed approaches to mental health recovery and community integration across Maine.