Friday, November 22, 2024
11/22/2024
The Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes (C & A) of Oklahoma seeks federal funding to continue providing substance abuse prevention services to five counties with large Tribal populations in western Oklahoma. Our Native Youth Coalition (NYC) will reach two new two high risk populations of Natives. We will target the under 18 Native population as well as young Native adults age 18-25, and isolated Natives in rural areas with high rates of alcohol misuse. Four of the five counties to be served are Mental Health Shortage Areas. According to the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, records indicate that all five counties have high need for substance abuse treatment (over 85%) and mental health treatment (over 80%). Data also show that over 90% of youth in these areas need substance abuse treatment. Alcohol and drug misuse are serious and life changing issues for Native adults and youth. In two of our most rural counties, alcohol related arrests are 2.5 times the rate of state average. Repeated arrests and the frequent loss of driving privileges leads to unemployment and brings severe hardships to many Native youth and families. About half of the county’s Native populations are enrolled members of the C & A, while the remainder are members of other Tribal Nations. We will serve all Native people, regardless of Tribal affiliation. National data for American Indians from the National Household Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) indicate that young Native adults (18-25), particularly those that are heavy marijuana users, are high risk for opioid use disorder and mental illness. State data shows that about 1 our of 5 state 12th grade youth use marijuana in the past month. If funded we will expand our efforts to the young adult category and implement culturally appropriate interventions to reduce drug misuse. We will also develop Champions in the rural areas to extend the reach of project staff, improve surveillance, and obtain more reliable data. Native school age youth will receive prevention-oriented culture classes, and for adults we will support and train 8 state certified Recovery Support Specialists per year, to provide peer counseling. We will also coordinate with the SAMHSA funded Prevention Technology Transfer Centers to provide staff training and share our information. Prior to initiating our work, the project will conduct Community Readiness Assessments in rural (and suburban) areas to assess the level of local support for our work. We will also use media to achieve substance abuse prevention goals. The project will work with the C & A television station to prepare videos (with Native actors) that will be shown in doctor’s offices waiting rooms to drive the prevention messages. The project will serve 125 Native youth and young adults in the first year and twice that in each of the following four years for a total 1,125 Natives served and over 15,000 reached through Tribal Newsletters, CATV viewers, social media, and doctor’s offices over the life of the project.
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).
