Health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Monday lamented a nationwide “spiritual malaise” as he unveiled new plans to tackle the nation’s addiction and substance use epidemic, casting the initiative as a game-changing effort to align government and recovery organizations.
The announcement included new details and funding sources behind the sweeping but vague addiction initiative he rolled out last week, unveiling a new program to address homelessness and plans to involve religious organizations in the government’s response to the addiction epidemic. In a series of events across Washington, Kennedy cast the initiative as a first-of-its-kind attempt to unify the government’s addiction efforts across the many federal agencies focused on substance use and behavioral health.
