U.S. SENATE — U.S. Senator Steve Daines today announced $104,602.00 in funding for the Crow Tribe to reduce and prevent methamphetamine abuse and suicide prevention strategies in Native youth.
“By working together we can ensure that Montanans dealing with drug abuse and addiction have the support and resources they need to get help and care in their local communities,”Daines stated. “We need to keep investing in mental healthcare services.”
“We are thrilled that we received this grant and we will do our best to meet its objectives,” Crow Tribe Executive Director of Health and Human Services Todd Wilson stated. “This grant is something we can utilize that will make an impact in our community. Meth abuse is an epidemic we’re trying to get a grasp on and curb. It is the number one concern of substance abuse on the Crow Reservation.”
This past Saturday, Daines took part in the Out of the Darkness walk in Bozeman for suicide prevention.
With Daines’ support, the Senate overwhelmingly passed S. 524, the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA). This legislation authorizes grants for implementing community-wide strategies in areas where opioid and methamphetamine abuse is higher than the national average, where there is a recent spike in such abuse, or there is a significant increase in opioid and methamphetamine abuse related deaths.
The funding is available through the Indian Health Service Methamphetamine and Suicide Prevention Initiative (MSPI). It is a nationally coordinated program focusing on providing much-needed methamphetamine and suicide prevention and intervention resources for Indian Country. This initiative promotes the use and development of evidence-based and practice-based models that represent culturally-appropriate prevention and treatment approaches to methamphetamine abuse and suicide prevention from a community-driven context.
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