The nonprofit has built their system on the core principles and is encouraged to see federal leadership embrace immediate, integrated, recovery-oriented care.
WASHINGTON, D.C., DC, UNITED STATES, February 5, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — Vegas Stronger today applauded the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ announcement of a $100 million investment under the Great American Recovery Initiative, calling it a historic federal acknowledgment of the exact model the organization has been implementing across Nevada for nearly a decade.
The initiative’s four pillars: outreach, engagement, evidence-based treatment, and long-term recovery support, reflect what Vegas Stronger describes as the only sustainable path to addressing addiction, serious mental illness, and homelessness at scale.
“For eight years, we have built our entire system around these same principles,” said David Marlon, PsyD, co-founder and CEO of Vegas Stronger. “We are encouraged to see federal leadership embrace what providers on the ground already know: treatment works when it is immediate, integrated, and recovery-oriented.”
Vegas Stronger highlights several areas where its work directly mirrors the federal framework:
• Assertive Outreach to the Unhoused: In the past year, Vegas Stronger has provided treatment and recovery services to more than 2,000 individuals experiencing homelessness, using compassionate outreach and same-day access to care as a core operating principle in Southern Nevada, Reno, and expanding efforts in rural Nevada communities.
• Evidence-Based Treatment and Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT): The organization operates fully integrated medication-assisted treatment programs embedded within a comprehensive behavioral health system, ensuring continuity of care for individuals with substance use disorders across urban and rural regions of the state.
• Integration With Jails and Re-Entry Systems: Vegas Stronger coordinates closely with local correctional systems to ensure individuals receiving MAT and behavioral health services continue treatment upon release, reducing relapse, overdose, and recidivism, a model currently serving both Clark County and Northern Nevada systems.
• Assisted Outpatient Treatment (AOT): Vegas Stronger is proud to have operated the only nonprofit Assisted Outpatient Treatment program in Nevada, demonstrating that structured, court-supported treatment can stabilize individuals with serious mental illness while preserving dignity and community safety statewide.
According to Vegas Stronger leadership, the federal announcement validates a model that has already shown measurable success across Nevada. Local officials like Las Vegas Mayor Shelley Berkley have long supported the Vegas Stronger mission and strategy, but lack of funding has been an ongoing issue.
“This is not theoretical for us,” Marlon added. “We have proven that integrated care, housing coordination, and long-term recovery supports change lives, from Las Vegas to Reno and into our rural communities. We welcome federal investment that expands these principles nationally.”
Vegas Stronger expressed readiness to collaborate with federal, state, and local partners to scale recovery-oriented systems of care and ensure the new funding reaches communities most affected by addiction and homelessness.
About Vegas Stronger™
Vegas Stronger™ is a nonprofit addiction treatment provider focused on ending homelessness by treating its root causes: substance use and mental illness. Our unique approach provides free SUD treatment and therapy, case management, and an array of wraparound services such as transportation, food, and more in an outpatient setting. Using our 13 essential elements, we facilitate the restoration to wholeness for individuals, families, and society at large, working to end homelessness by moving people off of the street and into sobriety, housing, and employment. Our mission is to provide immediate, comprehensive, and evidence-based treatment to all individuals struggling with addiction, ensuring they receive the care they need without barriers or long waiting lists. Learn more at https://vegasstronger.org/
David M Marlon
Vegas Stronger
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