The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration is a branch of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. SAMHSA is charged with improving the quality and availability of treatment and rehabilitative services in order to reduce illness, death, disability, and the cost to society resulting from substance abuse and mental illnesses. The Administrator of SAMHSA reports directly to the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. SAMHSA's headquarters building is located outside of Rockville, Maryland.
The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) is one of 27 institutes and centers that make up the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The NIH, in turn, is an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services and is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and health-related research.
Doris Okada Matsui is an American politician, who has served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from California's 7th congressional district since 2005. The district, numbered as the 5th from 2005 to 2013 and the 6th from 2013 to 2023, is based in Sacramento.
Sara Feigenholtz is a Democratic member of the Illinois Senate who has represented the 6th District since 2020. The District includes the lakefront neighborhoods of Lake View, Lincoln Park, Buena Park and the Near North Side in the city of Chicago.
Substance abuse prevention, also known as drug abuse prevention, is a process that attempts to prevent the onset of substance use or limit the development of problems associated with using psychoactive substances. Prevention efforts may focus on the individual or their surroundings. A concept that is known as "environmental prevention" focuses on changing community conditions or policies so that the availability of substances is reduced as well as the demand. Individual Substance Abuse Prevention, also known as drug abuse prevention involves numerous different sessions depending on the individual to help cease or reduce the use of substances. The time period to help a specific individual can vary based upon many aspects of an individual. The type of Prevention efforts should be based upon the individual's necessities which can also vary. Substance use prevention efforts typically focus on minors and young adults — especially between 12–35 years of age. Substances typically targeted by preventive efforts include alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, inhalants, coke, methamphetamine, steroids, club drugs, and opioids. Community advocacy against substance use is imperative due to the significant increase in opioid overdoses in the United States alone. It has been estimated that about one hundred and thirty individuals continue to lose their lives daily due to opioid overdoses alone.
Anne de la Blanchetai Donahue is an American politician from the state of Vermont. She has served as a Republican member of the Vermont House of Representatives since 2003, representing the Washington-1 district, which includes the Washington County towns of Berlin and Northfield. Donohue represented Washington-2 until 2013, when she was redistricted. She is also editor of Counterpoint, a quarterly mental health publication distributed for free throughout Vermont.
Terri L. White is chief executive officer of the nonprofit Mental Health Association Oklahoma, as of August 2020. She is an American social worker who resigned effective February 1, 2020 as Commissioner of the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, a position she has held since May 13, 2007. White previously served Democratic Governor of Oklahoma Brad Henry as a member of his Cabinet concurrent to her service as commissioner. White served as Henry's fourth Secretary of Health, becoming the first woman in State history to hold that post. Upon the election of Henry's successor, Republican Mary Fallin, White ceased being a member of the governor's Cabinet but retained her position as commissioner.
Harriette L. Chandler is an American politician who was the 94th President of the Massachusetts Senate and the Massachusetts State Senator for the 1st Worcester district, which includes parts of the city of Worcester, where she resides, and the towns of Boylston, Holden, Princeton, and West Boylston, and parts of Clinton and Northborough. She is a Democrat who has served since January 2001. From 1995 to 2001 she was a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives. Prior to serving in the Massachusetts legislature, she was a member of the Worcester school committee from 1991 to 1994. She is the first woman from Worcester ever to be elected to the Massachusetts Senate.
John F. Keenan is a member of the Massachusetts State Senate for the Norfolk and Plymouth district.
Barbara A. Favola is an American politician from the Commonwealth of Virginia. A Democrat, she has served in the Senate of Virginia since 2012, and currently represents the 40th District, encompassing most of Arlington County.
Michelle M. DuBois is an American politician serving as a Democratic member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives. She was elected in November 2014 to represent the 10th Plymouth District and was sworn in on January 7, 2015. Rep. DuBois was re-elected to a second term on November 8, 2016, after running uncontested. Rep DuBois won her third term in 2018 against John F. Cruz and won her fourth election in 2020 against Jack Lally.
Thomas J. "T. J." Donovan Jr. is an American lawyer and politician who served as Vermont Attorney General from 2017 to 2022. He was first elected in 2016 with over 66 percent of the vote. He previously served for ten years as State's Attorney of Chittenden County, the most populous county in Vermont.
Tram Nguyen is an American politician serving as a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives from the 18th Essex District. She represents the towns of Andover, Boxford, North Andover, and Tewksbury. Nguyen serves as the Vice Chair of the House Committee on Steering, Policy & Scheduling and member of Joint Committee on Mental Health, Substance Use & Recovery Committee, Joint Committee on Municipalities & Regional Governments, Joint Committee on Racial Equity, Civil Rights and Inclusion, and House Committee Human Resources & Employee Engagement. Prior to being elected as the first Vietnamese-American woman in the Massachusetts Legislature, Nguyen was an attorney at Greater Boston Legal Services providing support for survivors of domestic violence, seniors, veterans, people with disabilities, low-wage workers, and others from vulnerable communities. Nguyen is the highest ranking Asian American woman in the Massachusetts legislature.
Taylor Small is an American politician. Small is a member of the Vermont House of Representatives and is the first openly transgender legislator elected in Vermont and the 5th elected in the United States.
Michelle Bos-Lun is an American educator who also works in social services and restorative justice. She has been a politician since being elected in 2020. She is a state representative initially elected to Windham-4 for her first term, but after redistricting, now serving Windham-3 district of Vermont.
State Rep. Janet Yang Rohr, D-Naperville, represents the 41st District, serving the Naperville and Warrenville., Illinois communities in the Illinois House of Representatives. She began her first term in January 2021 as a part of the 102nd General Assembly.
Yolanda Young is a Missouri politician serving as a member of the Missouri House of Representatives from the 22nd district since 2019. She succeeded fellow Democrat Brandon Ellington in the 2019 special election after Ellington was elected to be a member of the Kansas City City Council.
Jessica "Jess" Hanson is an American politician serving in the Minnesota House of Representatives since 2021. A member of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL), Hanson represents District 55A in the southern Twin Cities metropolitan area, which includes the cities of Burnsville and Savage and parts of Dakota and Scott Counties.
Sarah Murphy is a Welsh Labour and Co-operative politician, serving as Minister for Mental Health and Wellbeing since July 2024.
A general election was held in the U.S. state of Vermont in 2022. All of Vermont's executive officers were up for election as well as Vermont's Class 3 U.S. Senate seat and its lone seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.
