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Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced a major new federal effort to tackle addiction, homelessness, and mental health challenges by investing $100 million in a pilot program called STREETS (Safety Through Recovery, Engagement and Evidence-Based Treatment and Supports) in eight U.S. cities. The initiative aims to build integrated care systems that connect people struggling with substance use and homelessness to housing, employment, treatment, and support services, instead of leaving them stuck in crisis.

It also expands who can receive federal addiction-related grants and lets states use funding more flexibly for treatment services involving children. The plan comes as part of the broader Great American Recovery Initiative and reflects both hope and concern from providers about consistent funding and implementation.

Read More: RFK Jr. And Others Launch New Addiction And Homelessness Initiative (PBS)

Patriots star cornerback Christian Gonzalez is using his NFL platform to change the mental health conversation in New England, partnering with the nonprofit KyleCares to bring support and awareness into schools and communities. Through initiatives like school visits and awareness campaigns — including the NFL’s My Cause, My Cleats program — he’s helped highlight mental health resources and honor friends and causes that matter to him.

KyleCares has already reached over 113,000 students across 130 schools, and Gonzalez’s involvement is helping normalize talking about emotional struggles and asking for help. His advocacy shows that athletes aren’t just competitors — they can be role models for vulnerability, connection, and community care off the field too.

Read More: Patriots CB Christian Gonzalez Changing Mental Health Narrative In New England (Boston Herald)

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a disorder that may result when an individual lives through or witnesses an event when they believe there is a threat to life or physical integrity and safety and experiences fear, terror, or helplessness.

The symptoms are characterized by (a) reexperiencing the trauma in painful flashbacks or nightmares; (b) avoidance of activities or places that recall the traumatic event, and (c) chronic physiological arousal, leading to such symptoms as an exaggerated startle response, disturbed sleep, difficulty in concentrating or remembering, and guilt about surviving the trauma when others did not.

Know someone struggling with post traumatic stress disorder? Treatments of choice include Cognitive Processing Therapy to help identify and change unhelpful beliefs and thoughts related to the trauma, Prolonged Exposure, and Written Exposure Therapy focused on writing about the trauma to reduce symptoms. Medications are also effective first-line treatments.

Philanthropist MacKenzie Scott has just given a massive $59 million gift to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), nearly doubling her previous support and marking one of the biggest donations the group has ever received. The unrestricted funding will help NAMI expand support, education, and advocacy for people and families affected by mental illness across the U.S. — and Scott’s “no-strings-attached” approach gives the organization flexibility to invest where it’s most needed.

Her ongoing commitment to mental health philanthropy reflects a broader effort to back lasting, real-world impact rather than short-lived projects, so communities can strengthen care and outreach long term.

Read More: MacKenzie Scott Just Gave $59 Million to the Nation’s Largest Mental Health Organization (Inc. Magazine)

MYTH: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is only a military man’s disease.

FACT: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is not just a military man’s disease. Anyone can have PTSD. A sexual assault victim, a domestic abuse victim, a survivor of a natural disaster, someone who’s suffered a loss or even a person who didn’t face any violence or physical threats themselves directly, but happened to witness someone else who did (i.e. vicarious trauma).

Symptoms include having flashbacks of the event(s), nightmares, anxiety/panic attacks, taking precautions to avoid reminders or “triggers” of the event, reacting in a way as if the event is re-occurring, etc.

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