Friend, that’s what one person told us when we recently asked about the real-life impact of federal funding cuts in your day-to-day lives. Many of you are already seeing the damage to lifesaving addiction and overdose prevention services in your communities. The responses we received came from all over the country, but they echoed similar themes: loss, fear, closed services, limited staff capacity, and many other issues emerging in the wake of the massive cuts to funding.

• “Programs have been cut, and there are less services available…People are losing access to the things they need.” 
• “Programs I serve have reduced or eliminated important services for people who use drugs. This has led to job loss, economic despair, and a further strain on organizations and service providers who were already at maximum capacity. Funding cuts = lives lost, full stop.”   
• “We are in a rural area, so any cuts to addiction treatment and overdose prevention makes already slim and hard to access resources even more inaccessible.” 

Thank you to everyone who shared their experiences. Your responses help us show the destructive results of lawmakers’ actions, and amplify why protecting lifesaving health services matters. We are continuing to track these cuts. Please continue updating us as conditions in your communities continue to change. And join us as we urge Congress to continue to fund health over harm.  

Together, we can win the fight for the care that we all deserve.