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- By Elyse Wild
Five programs at the Johns Hopkins Center for Indigenous Health have been decimated amid an estimated $2 billion in federal cuts to mental health and drug addiction services.
The Center was founded in 1991 to advance positive health outcomes in Indian Country through evidence-based public health programs, research, policy, and education, according to its website.
The slashed programs total $2.57 million of the Center’s budget and represent the work of two dozen staff members. The projects focused on suicide and substance-use prevention, mental health, and medication-assisted treatment, and reached thousands of people across Indian Country.
Native people experience deadly health disparities across the board, including in mental health, substance use disorders, and suicide rates. While overdose rates in the general population dropped in 2023, Native communities continued to experience the highest overdose rates of any demographic, according to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Native people also die by suicide at a rate 91% higher than the general population.
Experts have long pointed to the lasting effects of colonialism and broken treaty promises, which fractured access to health care and left many rural Native communities with little access to care. At 71.9 years, American Indian and Alaska Native peoples have the lowest life expectancy of any demographic group in the United States.
NPR broke the story about the cuts after reviewing grant termination letters sent by the Trump administration on Tuesday, Jan. 13, to the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. The terminations are effective immediately.
In an email to its newsletter subscribers, the Center outlined the five programs affected by the cuts. The programs are detailed below:
Celebrating Life — White Mountain Apache Community
This project focused on preventing substance use among White Mountain Apache youth and young adults on the Fort Apache Indian Reservation. Each year, hundreds of schoolchildren struggling with substance use and risk of suicide received direct support from White Mountain Apache community mental health specialists. More than 11,000 Apache community members were reached through public education campaigns and community events that shared best practices for supporting youth in crisis and strengthening protective factors to advance childhood well-being.
Honoring Life: Navajo Nation Youth Suicide Prevention
This program was adapted from the White Mountain Apache Celebrating Life suicide prevention program. It supported youth and young adults on the Navajo Nation who were at risk for suicide or self-harm. By partnering with local schools, hospitals, counseling programs, behavioral health teams, and traditional practitioners, the Center’s Diné (Navajo) community outreach team provided case management and connected youth to life-saving services. Each year, the program was expected to support more than 200 youth through direct case management, safety planning, and trainings, and reach more than 300 families through outreach and awareness events.
Developing the Mīyō Youth Wellness Project — Rocky Boy Indian Reservation, Montana
The Mīyō Youth Wellness Project sought to prevent and reduce early substance use among youth living in highly rural, underserved communities in north-central Montana. The program was implemented through a partnership between the Center for Indigenous Health and the Rocky Boy Health Center, leveraging the newly built Mīyō Pimātisiwinkamik Youth Wellness Center in Box Elder, Montana.
The center was to serve as the hub for culturally grounded, evidence-based prevention programming that incorporates land-based healing practices and holistic health promotion. The program was expected to serve approximately 1,600 youth ages 0–18 who live on the Rocky Boy Indian Reservation or in surrounding areas. The community faces significant challenges, including high poverty (40%), unemployment (12%), housing overcrowding, and elevated rates of substance use and exposure to violence.
Project AWARE — CIH Partnership with Chinle Unified School District, Navajo Nation
Project AWARE focused on the mental health needs of children, adolescents, and young adults at Chinle Unified School District. The acronym “AWARE” stands for Advancing Wellness and Resilience in Education, underscoring the program’s mission to promote mental health and well-being in schools.
The work centered on a trauma-informed school model that recognizes and addresses the impact of trauma on students’ lives and their ability to learn. The model is a community-wide approach and includes programming for students, school staff, parents and families, and community members. To date, the team has provided mental health support and training to an average of 1,263 people per year. Over two years, the program saw a 74% decrease in the number of students with significant mental health concerns across all five schools in the district.
CIH Partnership with Red Lake Urban Wellness Clinic — Minnesota
The goal of this project is to increase access to culturally responsive medication-assisted treatment (MAT) among urban American Indians in the Minneapolis–St. Paul area. The Wiidookodaadiwin MAT clinic is a partnership between Red Lake Nation’s Mino Bimaadiziwin Wellness Clinic and the Native American Community Clinic in Minneapolis.
The clinic provides daily dosing and direct prescribing of suboxone, harm-reduction services, spiritual and mental health care, nurse care coordination, and drug and alcohol counseling. The project was slated to serve at least 270 Indigenous adults, offering a comprehensive, culturally grounded approach to healing for community members navigating opioid use disorder and related challenges.
In the email, the Center’s director, Allison Barlow, wrote that it will raise emergency funds and seek long-term financial partners to sustain its programming in light of the unexpected cuts.
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