Fentanyl Free America Summit, End Addiction Walk, and Funding Opportunities

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DEA Hosts Inaugural Fentanyl Free America Summit, Featuring Together for Families Open House

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration concluded its inaugural Fentanyl Free America Summit alongside CADCA’s 25^th Annual Mid-Year Training Institute with more than 2,500 participants – including leaders in law enforcement, prevention, public health, education, recovery, faith communities, and more than 350 youth – to strengthen the nation’s coordinated response to the fentanyl crisis.

“The fentanyl fight is not one we can afford to lose. This inaugural summit brought together leaders from law enforcement, prevention, education, and faith-based organizations because protecting our communities requires all of us working together,” said DEA Administrator Terry Cole. “DEA will continue to relentlessly pursue the foreign terrorist organizations responsible for flooding our country with fentanyl while strengthening the partnerships needed to educate our communities, prevent fentanyl poisoning and overdose deaths, and support those impacted by this crisis. My hope is that the momentum created here continues long after this summit, because achieving a Fentanyl Free America demands our shared, sustained commitment.”

The summit advanced DEA’s initiative by fostering partnerships, sharing evidence-based strategies, and reinforcing a unified commitment to protecting communities, preventing overdose deaths, and supporting individuals and families affected by fentanyl. It also featured educational sessions and collaborative discussions focused on strengthening the nation’s response to the overdose and poisoning crisis through the three pillars of the initiative:

• Protect by disrupting criminal organizations, maintaining a secure controlled substance supply chain, and strengthening public partnerships.
• Prevent overdose and poisoning deaths by expanding evidence-based education, empowering youth leaders, and building sustainable community prevention capacity.
• Support the families and loved ones impacted by fentanyl, engage faith-based communities, and ensure those affected by substance use have pathways to hope and healing.

One of the summit sessions was a Together for Families Open House. DEA provided a forum for those who had lost a loved one due to substance use to interact with other summit attendees and share resources and support.

DEA also introduced its latest prevention tool – Hidden on Your Kid’s Phone – during the summit. The video series is designed to give parents information and skills to help identify risks, understand warning signs and monitor behavior. It also provides tools to encourage effective conversations about being safe online. The videos can be watched at home or downloaded to be shared with a group.

To support the importance of wellness in the fight to achieve a Fentanyl Free America, hundreds of attendees Walked Away from Fentanyl during a one-mile fun run and took part in a morning yoga session.

Furthermore, DEA presented the first-ever Fentanyl Free America Awards, recognizing individuals and organizations for their important work in support of one or more of the three pillars of the Fentanyl Free America Campaign.

Not One More Alabama Celebrates 10 Years of Hope with Annual End Addiction Walk in Huntsville

Not One More Alabama (NOMA) invites the community to celebrate a decade of hope, healing, and advocacy during its 10th Anniversary End Addiction Walk on Saturday, August 8, 2026, at Big Spring Park in downtown Huntsville.The walk will start at 9:00 a.m.

This free, family-friendly event brings together individuals in recovery, families, advocates, healthcare professionals, and community members to raise awareness about substance use disorder, honor lives affected by addiction, and celebrate the power of recovery.

For the past 10 years, Not One More Alabama has worked tirelessly to reduce the stigma surrounding addiction while connecting individuals and families with education, treatment, recovery, and support resources. What began as a grassroots movement in 2016 has grown into a thriving nonprofit organization that continues to expand its impact across North Alabama.

The End Addiction Walk serves as a day of remembrance, encouragement, and community connection by:

• Inspiring hope for individuals living in recovery.
• Offering support and encouragement to those seeking recovery.
• Honoring loved ones lost to addiction.
• Connecting families and individuals who have shared similar experiences.
• Highlighting local treatment, recovery, and support resources available throughout the community.

This year's event will feature a keynote message from Nick Valencia, nationally recognized journalist and founder of Nick Valencia News, who spent more than 19 years reporting for CNN. Valencia will share an inspiring message about resilience, hope, and the importance of community.

Participants will also have the opportunity to join the Recovery Circle, one of the most meaningful moments of the event. The Recovery Circle celebrates every recovery journey — from one day sober to more than 40 years — offering encouragement and inspiration to all in attendance.

The celebration will also include complimentary refreshments, temporary tattoos, photo opportunities, community resource booths, and activities for attendees of all ages.

Community members are encouraged to form fundraising teams or support an existing team. Funds raised through the End Addiction Walk allow Not One More Alabama to continue providing free educational and awareness programs throughout the year and will help support the opening of the organization's new Recovery Resource Center in Huntsville.

SAMHSA Announces More Than $281 Million in Funding Opportunities to Address Addiction, Overdose, and Mental Illness and Promote Recovery

Earlier this month, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), a division within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), announced more than $281 million in funding opportunities for 15 grant programs.

“These funding opportunities reflect SAMHSA’s commitment to addressing the full continuum of behavioral health needs — from preventing substance use and suicide to expanding mental health services, trauma-informed care, addiction treatment, reversing overdoses, and recovery support,” said SAMHSA Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Christopher D. Carroll. “By investing in evidence-based programs and community partnerships, we can help save lives, improve outcomes, and strengthen the health and well-being of people across the country.”

Opportunities include:

• $68.2 million for Medication-Assisted Treatment - Prescription Drug and Opioid Addiction grants that expand access to medications for opioid use disorder, increase availability of treatment and recovery for individuals with opioid use disorder, and reduce illicit opioid use and prescription opioid misuse and overdose.
• $55.7 million for Project AWARE (Advancing Wellness and Resiliency in Education) grants that support the development of sustainable infrastructures for school-based mental health programs and services.
• $34.7 million for First Responders-Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act grants that train first responders and communities in administering and distributing FDA-approved opioid overdose reversal medications.
• $22 million for Mental Health Awareness Training grants that facilitate the implementation of mental health awareness and literacy training.
• $11 million for Preventing Drug Overdoses: Community Prevention and Response grants that support the development and implementation of a community-wide prevention program to reduce drug overdose deaths by expanding access to FDA-approved opioid overdose reversal medications.
• $10.5 million for Treatment, Recovery and Workforce Support grants that support individuals in substance use disorder (SUD) or co-occurring disorder (COD) treatment and recovery to live independently and participate in the workforce.
• $6 million for Emergency Department Alternatives to Opioids programs that establish and implement practices which will help organizations develop alternatives to pharmacological opioid interventions for pain, reduce the potential harmful consequences of opioid use for pain care in hospitals and emergency departments, thereby promoting safer pain treatment and reducing the risk of future opioid misuse and possible opioid overdose.

More information is available on the SAMHSA Grants Dashboard.

We're Growing!

The Together for Families network now includes hundreds of organizations and individuals from across the United States.  Please encourage families and community members concerned about substance use to sign up for updates.

Also, if you work with an organization that has a free resource, information or event that you want families to know about, encourage them to join the Together for Families network by e-mailing togetherforfamilies@dea.gov.