Projects for Assistance in Transition from Homelessness (PATH)
SAMHSA’s Projects for Assistance in Transition from Homelessness (PATH) funds services for people with serious mental illness (SMI) experiencing homelessness.
SAMHSA’s PATH program is a formula grant authorized by the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Amendments Act of 1990. PATH, the first major federal legislative response to homelessness, is administered by the SAMHSA Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS). Learn more about block grants.
PATH grants are distributed annually to all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Each state or territory solicits proposals and awards funds to local public or nonprofit organizations, known as PATH providers.
Supported Activities for PATH
Across the United States, 489 local organizations offer an array of essential services and supports that may not be supported by mainstream mental health programs. In total, PATH staff reached out to 189,336 individuals in 2015 and served 90,054 PATH-eligible clients with the following services:
- Outreach services
- Screening and diagnostic treatment
- Habilitation and rehabilitation
- Community mental health
- Substance use treatment
- Referrals for primary healthcare, job training, educational services, and housing
- Housing services as specified in Section 522(b)(10) of the Public Health Service Act
Some PATH providers offer all of these services, while others focus on providing one or two of them.
PATH Program Management
Each year, CMHS issues a funding opportunity announcement (FOA) prepared and submitted by PATH state contacts under the signature of the governor (or designee) of a state or territory. States and territories must complete the application included in the FOA to receive PATH funding. The FOA is available on the WebBGAS website, an online application system used for SAMHSA block grants and the PATH program. Applications are due 60 days from the release of the FOA and must be submitted through the WeBGAS site.
While the federal PATH application process for states and territories is noncompetitive, local public or nonprofit organizations may compete for grant award funding. Further, all PATH grant recipients, except U.S. territories, are required to contribute one dollar for every three dollars of federal money received.
PATH grant award recipients must adhere to specific requirements in order to maintain their funding. Government Project Officers (GPOs) are assigned to each state and territory by SAMHSA to assist PATH state contacts in managing the PATH program. GPOs address issues related to the PATH legislation, the PATH application, program monitoring, and other areas as needed.
Data Collection and PATH Data Exchange (PDX)
PATH providers are required to submit annual PATH data reports through the PATH Data Exchange (PDX), an online data collection tool. Each state or territory has a designated a PATH state contact who offers training and technical assistance to providers. PATH state contacts help providers prepare PATH data reports and use the PDX. State contacts also assist providers in administering local PATH programs.
Learn more about PATH Data Reports and PATH State and Provider Contacts.
Other SAMHSA Homelessness Programs and Services
SAMHSA’s targeted homelessness programs are part of SAMHSA’s Recovery Support Strategic Initiative. One goal of the strategic initiative is to increase access to permanent housing for people with mental and/or substance use disorders and their families. This effort aligns with the concept of safe and stable housing being a critical component of recovery. SAMHSA's homelessness programs support various behavioral health treatments and recovery-oriented services.
Other SAMHSA homelessness programs and services include:
- Cooperative Agreements to Benefit Homeless Individuals (CABHI)
- Grants for the Benefit of Homeless Individuals–Services in Supportive Housing (GBHI–SSH)
- SSI/SSDI Outreach, Access, and Recovery (SOAR)
Find information about current grant announcements.
Learn more about block grants.
PATH Annual Report Data
Find PATH annual data reports with information on program funding, services, and client demographics.
To comply with federal grant requirements, providers that receive PATH funding must submit a PATH annual data report, which provides key information about the national impact of SAMHSA’s PATH program.
The reports detail how grant funds are used and expended in accordance with federal grant requirements. PATH annual reports must be made available to the public in order for states and territories to receive funding.
These reports are served in PDF format. Click here to download Adobe Acrobat Reader. (opens in a new window)
Submit PATH Data Reports
PATH providers fulfill their reporting requirements by submitting annual data reports through the PATH Data Exchange (PDX).
PATH state and provider contacts submit reporting data for through the PATH Data Exchange (PDX). PDX is an online tool used to record and update information about PATH programs and services. To comply with federal grant requirements, providers that receive PATH funding must submit a PATH annual data report which collect's key information about the national impact of SAMHSA’s PATH program. The report details how grant funds are used and expended in accordance with federal grant requirements. PATH annual reports must be made available to the public in order for states and territories to receive funding.
Find Path Annual Data Reports with information on program funding, services, and client demographics.
Local state contacts are a primary resource for guidance about PATH data and the annual report submission process. State contacts receive training on PDX and how to use it to help PATH providers fulfill their reporting requirements. Learn more about PATH state and provider contacts.
State PATH Contacts (SPC) and Provider Contacts
Find contact information for State PATH Contacts (SPC) and Provider contacts or learn where to update your information if you are a SPC or PATH Provider.
SPC’s and provider contacts work together to deliver and sustain PATH programs that provide services for people with serious mental illness who are experiencing or at risk of homelessness.
PATH providers are local public or nonprofit organizations that have received PATH funding to provide services to people who are not currently connected to mainstream services. PATH state contacts provide training, technical assistance, and support for PATH providers within their state or territory.
Find SPC and provider contacts.
Update Contact Information
PATH state contacts and provider contacts submit and update their contact information through the PATH Data Exchange (PDX). PDX is an online tool used to record and update information about PATH programs and services in annual data reports and PATH state and provider information. Consumers can use this information to find PATH programs within their state or territory. In addition, SPC’s and providers may contact each other to collaborate on service delivery and program management.
State PATH Contacts (SPC’s)
Provider Contacts
Find Immediate Assistance
Use these free helplines, directories, and support organizations for assistance with homelessness, domestic violence, or mental health issues.
Do you or someone you love need immediate help with homelessness, domestic violence, or mental illness? Contact PATH providers who offers services for people experiencing or at risk of homelessness and serious mental illness, or use the following helplines, online directories, and support organizations to connect with assistance.
Program Referrals
Dial 2-1-1 to access a free and confidential referral service. You’ll find programs that can assist with housing, access to health care, food, and other services.
Domestic Violence
National Domestic Violence Hotline (opens in a new window)
Call the National Domestic Violence Hotline, 1-800-799-7233, to speak with an advocate about your situation. You’ll find confidential crisis intervention, safety planning, information and referrals to agencies in your area. (If you think your computer use may be monitored, use a public computer to access this site.)
Homelessness and Housing Assistance
Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Housing Assistance (opens in a new window)
If you are experiencing or at risk of homelessness, use the HUD list of resources and services. You’ll find a directory of shelters, helplines, and information on how to contact housing counselors. Learn how to obtain emergency assistance, food assistance, and other services.
Search for HUD homelessness resources in your state.
Suicide Prevention
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (opens in a new window)
If you or someone you know is suicidal or in emotional distress, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, 1-800-273-TALK (8255). Trained crisis workers are available to talk 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. They can provide crisis counseling and mental health referrals. Your confidential and toll-free call goes to the nearest crisis center in the lifeline national network.
Supplemental Security Income/Social Security Disability Insurance (SSI/SSDI) Assistance
SSI/SSDI Outreach, Access, and Recovery (SOAR) (opens in a new window)
The SAMHSA SOAR program provides SSI/SSDI application assistance to people who are experiencing or at risk of homelessness, mental illness, medical impairment, or co-occurring substance use disorder.
Social Security Representative Payment Program
If you are a beneficiary who needs assistance managing your benefits, contact the Social Security Representative Payment Program for financial management services.
Veterans
National Call Center for Homeless Vets
Call the National Call Center for Homeless Vets, 1-877-4AID VET (877-424-3838), for free and confidential information about homeless prevention programs and mental health services.
If you are a wounded warrior, service member, or veteran experiencing homelessness, use the National Resource Directory to find assistance with housing, employment, access to healthcare, and other services in your state.
Veterans Crisis Line (opens in a new window)
Call the Veterans Crisis Line, 1-800-273-8255, and press 1 to talk to a Department of Veterans Affairs responder, or send a text message to 838255. Services are confidential and are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
SAMHSA Accessibility
Section 508 of the Americans with Disabilities Act requires federal agencies to make electronic and information technology (EIT) accessible to persons with disabilities. Their experience should be comparable to the experience of people without disabilities. Exceptions to this policy may be made if it would impose an undue burden upon the agency in question.
At this time, all government information should be accessible via screen readers and other accessibility tools, with the exception of some information from before 2001. This information may not be available in accessible formats. However, if a person with a disability needs such information in an accessible format, federal agencies are required to provide it upon request.
To request an accessible version of information from the SAMHSA website, please email the SAMHSA Webmaster (link sends e-mail). To convert PDF documents into an accessible format, refer to the Adobe® Accessibly Resource Center (opens in a new window).
To Learn More
- The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) provides an overview of Section 508 implementation requirements within the Department.
- The U.S. Access Board's Section 508 Homepage provides information on Section 508 law, frequently asked questions, and standards.
- The Section 508 Homepage provides Section 508 tools, resources, standards, and news.
SAMHSA Privacy Policy
Thank you for visiting our SAMHSA web site and reviewing our Privacy Policy. This policy pertains to SAMHSA.gov and all SAMHSA funded websites. Our policy is clear:
- We do not collect personally identifiable information (PII) about you unless you choose to provide that information to us.
- Any PII you chose to provide is protected by security controls consistent with the HHS Information Security and Privacy Policy and National Institutes of Standards and Technology and Office of Management and Budget guidance.
- Non-PII information related to your visit to our website may be automatically collected and temporarily stored.
For more information on your health information privacy and security rights, or on the HIPAA Privacy and Security Rules, visit the HHS Office for Civil Rights.
Information Collected and Stored Automatically
When you browse through our website, we gather and temporarily store technical information about your visit. This information does not identify who you are. The information we collect includes:
- The name of the domain you use to access the Internet (for example, aol.com, if you are using an American Online account, or stanford.edu, if you are connecting from Stanford University's domain);
- The date and time of your visit;
- The pages you visited; and
- The address of the website you came from when you came to visit.
We use this information to improve our website and provide a better user experience for our visitors. We use a tool, Google Analytics, to collect and aggregate this information. This information is available only to web managers and other designated staff who require this information to perform their duties. It is retained only for as long as needed for proper analysis. There is no PII included in this data.
Web Measurement and Customization
We use web measurement and customization technologies, such as cookies, to help our website function better for visitors and to better understand how the public is using our website.
Cookies
SAMHSA uses "cookies" to test and optimize our website design and content. A cookie is a small text file automatically placed on your computer. We use two types of cookies on our websites:
- We use session cookies to gather data for technical purposes, such as enabling better navigation through our website and generating aggregated statistics about how the website is used. Session cookies are temporary text files that expire when you leave our website. When cookies expire, they are automatically deleted from your computer. We do not use session cookies to collect PII, and we do not share data collected from session cookies. Our use of session cookies is defined as "Tier 1" usage in accordance with the OMB Memorandum (M)-10-22 Guidance for Online Use of Web Measurement and Customization Technologies.
- We use multi-session cookies, a.k.a. persistent cookies, to customize our website for frequent visitors and to test variations of website design and content. Multi-session cookies are cookies that are stored over more than a single session on your computer. We do not use multi-session cookies to collect PII, and we do not share data collected from multi-session cookies. Our multi-session cookies are set to expire two years after your last visit to our website. After two years, they are automatically deleted from your computer. Our use of multi-session cookies is defined as "Tier 2" usage in accordance with the OMB Memorandum (M)-10-22 Guidance for Online Use of Web Measurement and Customization Technologies.
You can take actions to block cookies. Blocking these cookies from your computer will not affect your access to the content and tools on our website. Instructions to opt out are available on USA.gov.
Personal Information Voluntarily Submitted to SAMHSA
If you choose to provide SAMHSA with personal information – for example by completing a "Contact Us" inquiry via email, leaving a comment, or completing a survey – we may use that information to respond to your message and/or help us get you the information or services you asked for. Submitting personal information (name, address, telephone number, email address, etc.) is voluntary and is not required to access information on our website.
We will retain the information only for as long as necessary to respond to your question or to fulfill the stated purpose of the communication. Electronically submitted information, like information submitted in paper form, is maintained and destroyed in accordance with the Federal Records Act and records schedules of the National Archives and Records Administration. It may be subject to disclosure in certain cases (for example, if lawfully required in response to a Freedom of Information Act request, court order, or Congressional access request, or if authorized by a Privacy Act System of Records Notice). It is subject to the Privacy Act if maintained in a Privacy Act system.
Learn more about your rights under the Freedom of Information Act and the Privacy Act.
Visiting an Official SAMHSA Page on Third-Party Websites/Applications
We maintain accounts on third-party websites, such as social media sites, as tools to better interact with the public. Your activity on those third-party websites is governed by the security and privacy policies of those sites. Users of third-party websites are often sharing information with the general public, user community, and/or the third-party operating the website. These actors may use this information in a variety of ways. You should review the privacy policies of third-party websites before using them and ensure that you understand how your information may be used. You should also adjust privacy settings on your account on any third-party website to match your preferences.
SAMHSA Accounts
Common third-party websites in use include:
- Facebook Privacy Policy (opens in a new window)
- Twitter Privacy Policy (opens in a new window)
- YouTube Privacy Policy (opens in a new window)
- Flickr Privacy Policy (opens in a new window)
Information Collected and Used from Third-Party Websites
If you have an account with a third-party website, and choose to follow, like, friend, or comment, certain PII associated with your account may be made available based on the privacy policies of the third-party website and your privacy settings within that third-party website. SAMHSA sometimes collects and uses PII made available through third-party websites. We do not share PII made available through third-party websites.
SAMHSA conducts and publishes a Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) for each use of a third-party website. Each use of a third-party website may have unique functionality or practices. To learn more, review the PIAs published by HHS.
Interaction with Children Online
SAMHSA will take all reasonable steps necessary to protect the privacy and safety of any child from whom information is collected, as required by the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) (opens in a new window). A child’s parent or guardian is required to provide consent before SAMHSA collects, uses, or shares personal information from a child under age 13.
Information and instructions will be provided by the specific webpage and/or app that collects information about a child. The webpage and/or app will specify exactly what the information will be used for, who will see it, and how long it will be kept.
Disclosure
SAMHSA does not disclose, give, sell, or transfer any personal information about our visitors unless required for law enforcement or by Federal law.
Intrusion Detection
This site is maintained by the U.S. Government. It is protected by various provisions of Title 18, U.S. Code. Violations of Title 18 are subject to criminal prosecution in federal court.
For site security purposes and to ensure that this service remains available to all users, we employ software programs to monitor traffic to identify unauthorized attempts to upload or change information or otherwise cause damage. In the event of authorized law enforcement investigations and as part of any required legal process, information from these sources may be used to help identify an individual.
For more information
For more information on the Privacy Act at HHS, visit: https://www.hhs.gov/foia/privacy/index.html
For SAMHSA privacy questions or concerns contact: info.privacy@samhsa.hhs.gov (link sends e-mail)
Systems of Records Notices (SORNs)
Under the Privacy Act of 1974, a description of the information to be collected in any system of records must be published in the Federal Register before the data collection begins.
For each system of records, a specified Agency employee, known as a system manager, is responsible for the business requirements of the data maintained in the system, for answering any questions about seeing the records, and for amending or correcting information contained therein. The system manager, along with his or her mailing address, is listed in the Federal Register notice.
See Also:
- System of Records Notices (SORNs)
- Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA)
- U.S. Federal Government related policies, including Privacy Act of 1974
- HHS Privacy Contacts (HHS Intranet)
- Personally Identifiable Information (PII) Breach Response Team (BRT) Policy
- Privacy of Individually Identifiable Health Information (Privacy Rule)
Exit Disclaimer
When leaving the SAMHSA.gov website for a non-federal website, you will see the "Exit Disclaimer" graphic displayed next to the link.
This graphic is intended to notify you of the following:
- You are leaving a SAMHSA funded site and entering a non-federal Web site.
- This external link provides additional information that is consistent with the intended purpose of SAMHSA.gov.
- The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) cannot attest to the accuracy of information provided by this link.
- Linking to a non-federal site does not constitute an endorsement by HHS or any of its employees of the sponsors or the information and products presented on the site.
- You will be subject to the destination site’s privacy policy when you leave this site.
Larger version of disclaimer icon:
Read the Department of Health and Human Services' disclaimers to learn more.
Viewers and Plugins
The following plugins and viewers are free of charge and provide software that enables people to view some of the file types posted on SAMHSA.gov, including PDF, DOC, XLS, and PPT files. Please note that this software is not made or supported by SAMHSA.
- For .swf file types, use Adobe Flash Player (opens in a new window)
- For .pdf file types, use Adobe Reader (opens in a new window)
- For .xls and .xlsx file types, use Microsoft Excel Viewer (opens in a new window)
- For .ppt and .pptx file types, use Microsoft PowerPoint Viewer 2007 (opens in a new window)
- For .mp3, .wav, and .wmz file types, use Microsoft Windows Media Player (opens in a new window)
- For .doc, .docx, and .wpd file types, use Microsoft Word Viewer (opens in a new window)