Cherokee Nation Among Eight Awarded Millions in Federal STREETS Grant Funds to Expand Mental Health, Substance Use Treatment Services, Housing Support

TAHLEQUAH, Okla. - The Cherokee Nation was among eight sites in the country to be awarded the federal STREETS grant, through the new Safety Through Recovery, Engagement, and Evidence-based Treatment and Support (STREETS) program from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

The funds mark a significant investment in improving health and wellness for Cherokee Nation citizens most at risk for mental health challenges, substance use disorders and housing insecurities.

Administered by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), STREETS will provide $96 million total over four years to help communities build coordinated systems of care for people who are homeless and have serious mental illness, substance use disorders, or co-occurring disorders, according to HHS.

The Cherokee Nation, the only tribe in the country selected, will receive $3 million a year for four years, according to HHS.

For the Cherokee Nation, the award will expand behavioral health access to critical prevention, early intervention, and treatment resources throughout the reservation.

"This is an important step toward empowering lives, improving resiliency and supporting Cherokee people currently living in the margins and in need of our support with more resources," said Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. "The Cherokee Nation has seen an increase across the social service spectrum, including behavioral health and housing support since the fallout of the opioid epidemic and to date we have increased our behavioral health by 350 percent, with now even more help coming for these vulnerable citizens."

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. announced the grant award in Houston, Texas on Friday. Other recipients across the nation include the city of Detroit, Miami-Dade County, and city of Houston.

"The Cherokee Nation continues to be at the national forefront with its behavioral health services including building our own substance abuse treatment center with Opioid settlement funds to other emerging services and we are extremely thankful to HHS for awarding the tribe this grant which will help our citizens even more for generations to come," said Deputy Chief Bryan Warner, who chairs the HHS Centers For Disease Control and Prevention Tribal Advisor Committee.

Chief Hoskin serves on the HHS Secretary Tribal Advisory Committee. He met with Secretary Kennedy in the Jamul Indian Village near San Diego on September 22 to discuss healthcare priorities for Cherokee Nation and all of Indian Country.

"We have an opportunity to interrupt a cycle of perpetuating generational trauma for our people on the Cherokee Nation Reservation. It will be hard physical, mental, emotional and spiritual work with the likes we have not seen, but deeply needed for generations," said Juli Skinner, Senior Director of Cherokee Nation Behavioral Health which will help lead the grant.

The funding will allow Cherokee Nation Behavioral Health and partnering programs to:

• Expand evidence-based mental health services that identify and assist Cherokee citizens showing early signs of anxiety, depression, trauma-related conditions, serious mental illness (SMI) and other behavioral health concerns.
• Strengthen culturally informed and community-centered prevention strategies that help reduce substance misuse, including opioid-related risks.
• Support Cherokee citizens experiencing housing insecurity by connecting them with case management, wraparound recovery services, and linkages to long-term housing solutions.
• Increase access to crisis intervention and outreach in high-risk communities to ensure citizens and families know how to access care, treatment, and supportive services with as few programmatic hurdles as possible.
• Enhance coordination between behavioral health providers, law enforcement, social services, and community organizations to improve safety and reduce crises related to untreated mental health or substance misuse.

To learn more about the grant: https://www.hhs.gov/press-room/secretary-kennedy-announces-96-million-streets-program-homelessness-addiction.html