Wednesday, January 15, 2025
1/15/2025
The communities of the Yukon Kuskokwim Delta were once healthy and self-sufficient; free from alcohol and drugs. Our history of oppression, colonization, epidemics and boarding schools devastated our villages and now it is the opioid epidemic that threatens our people, our families and our children. The Yukon Kuskokwim Health Corporation has been fighting the rise of opioid use and misuse in the YK Delta through our Opioid Treatment program and Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) Program. However, we must continue our efforts in order to combat the opioid epidemic in our homeland. With the funds from SAMSHA’s Tribal Opioid Response Grant, we will be able to do just that. We must improve outreach efforts across YKHC’s many departments in order to provide education, increase referrals to treatment and, ultimately, reduce the number of opioid overdoses in the YK Delta. Forty-Five percent of our clientele are from the villages. There are 58 villages in the YK Delta region and our program serves clients in nine of the 58 villages. Therefore, it is vital that we expand our program to the remaining 49 villages. In order to meet the demand in our community, our program must expand. We must continue to hire and train new staff. Current staff members are continuing to earn the necessary credits to be Chemical Dependency Counselors at either the tech, I, or II level. Furthermore, we will create new positions in our program for Peer Support Specialists. We must identify candidates for the peer support division and enroll them in training before they work with current clients. Within the first three months of this grant cycle, we will build a working relationship with the providers in the village clinics, village tribes, and the two school districts in the YK Delta. With these connections, we will identify at risk community members through our referral process. We will compile educational resources to be distributed with the harm reduction kits that are dispensed through YKHC. Furthermore, within six months we will expand upon these resources to provide a training on the administration of Naloxone and the symptoms of opioid overdose. Additionally, within the first six months of the grant cycle we will identify prospective peer support specialists and locate the appropriate trainings. Continuing to seek out training and certifications for all staff will be ongoing throughout the grant in order to best incorporate evidence-based practices. In the last, TOR grant, our MAT and opioid treatment program has rapidly expanded. With additional funds from the TOR grant, we will be able to increase our outreach and expand our harm reduction efforts. Traveling to the villages is one of the most important of components of our program and would not be possible without the TOR grant. As the only direct service provider in our rural region, our program strives to be as comprehensive and as patient centered as possible. It is with the help of the TOR grant, that we will be able to continue to reach and help those struggling with substance abuse and misuse in the YK Delta
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).