Sunday, May 5, 2024
5/5/2024
The Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma (ESTO) is located in the far northeastern corner of Oklahoma in Ottawa county near the rural town of Wyandotte. Major towns or cities near our tribal headquarters include Joplin, Missouri (30 miles) and Tulsa, Oklahoma (90 miles). The population focus and geographic catchment area impacted for this project is Native Americans and community members within a 50-mile radius of our tribal headquarters near Wyandotte, OK. Based upon local data and first-hand experience from Del Camp, chief clinical officer with Ozark Center, the behavioral health branch of Freeman Health System in Joplin , there is a locally identified need towards preventing and reducing mental health and substance use, reducing the impact of trauma, and promoting good mental health. The need for our proposed project stems from evidence from the COVID-19 pandemic that substance abuse and mental health is on the rise. This has been identified as a behavioral health and public safety problem in our tribal community and far reaching service area within a 50-mile radius through various community meetings, interviews, and statistics. With the COVID-19 pandemic and a poor rural community that we live in, self isolation has caused the increase of substance abuse and poor mental health. As the coronavirus outbreak continues, Americans everywhere are struggling with their mental health. According to a national poll released in March 2020 by the American Psychiatric Association, nearly half of Americans are anxious about the possibility of contracting the coronavirus. Nearly 4 in 10 are anxious about becoming seriously ill or dying of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, and roughly 62% are anxious about the possibility of family and loved ones getting the coronavirus. In March 2020 more than one-third of Americans say the coronavirus is seriously affecting their mental health. In April that statistic increased to more than one half of Americans expressed concern for their mental health and it is escalating daily. “During this time, it is important to do what we can to maintain self-care and manage the stress," the association's president, Bruce Schwartz, said in a statement. Maintaining mental health in the midst of the pandemic is a struggle. Funding of this grand would provide professional resources to help both children and adults to develop positive coping skills. ESTO routinely deals with a high amount of substance abuse. Tammy Gibson of our Indian Child Welfare department states that all but one of her many cases involve substance abuse. We fear that with the high amount of substance abuse the increase of suicide will happen. With this funding ESTO will be able to help individuals during this COVID-19 pandemic, to have a positive mental health and to fight substance abuse.
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).
