The Yurok Wellness & Recovery Enhancement project will fund culturally integrated residential treatment, including Medication for Opioid Use Disorder (MOUD), and individual, family, and group counseling for Yurok Tribal members. The project will also train, hire, and contract Peer Support Specialists to provide peer support with an emphasis on cultural engagement. These activities will be implemented through Yurok Wellness and Reentry programs, where participants receive comprehensive case management, recovery support services, and supervision and reporting aimed at family reunification and diversion of criminal charges. The project will serve 140 people over the course of the grant, with approximately 30 people receiving services per year.
Since the 1960s, the rugged mountainous region encompassing the Yurok Reservation, known as the Emerald Triangle, has been the largest cannabis-producing area in the country. Established criminal networks have enabled a surge in methamphetamines, fentanyl, and heroin. Paired with staggeringly high prescription rates, these conditions have led to a severe opioid crisis in the Yurok community. Tribal members on the Reservation and in the surrounding counties face significant barriers to treatment and recovery. The area is impoverished and isolated, with limited access to residential treatment, safe and affordable housing, public transportation, employment, and healthcare. Disconnection from traditional ways and lack of urban opportunities, combined with unhealed historical trauma, compounds harm for Yurok Tribal members impacted by the opioid epidemic. With this project, the Tribal Court will seek to reduce opioid use, overdose, and death, and improve recovery outcomes through treatment, counseling, and peer support.