Reznet

Funds for Treatment Programs

By The Associated Press

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) -- The Montana-Wyoming Tribal Leaders Council has received a $5.6 million federal grant to help the tribes broaden treatment and support services available to tribal members with addictions.

The money, to be dispensed over three years, will fund the Rocky Mountain Tribal Access to Recovery program.

"You had a very compelling application that talked about partnerships," said Terry Cline, administrator of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the federal agency that awarded the grant. "That really was the point that caught SAMHSA's eye."

About 15 percent of American Indians in Montana and Wyoming, or about 11,000 people, need some form of substance abuse treatment, Cline said, but only 4,000 of them are getting it.

"We all know substance abuse has always been part of our communities," said Ed Wadda, an Indian Affairs liaison for Wyoming Gov. Dave Freudenthal's office. "We would like to put that out of business."

The Rocky Mountain Tribal Access to Recovery is a partnership among the tribal leaders council and 15 Montana and Wyoming tribal and urban Indian substance abuse programs.

It aims to fill gaps in the existing treatment system by providing funding for services such as transportation, child care, cultural mentoring, spiritual support and programs for sober recreation and exercise.

"This is a prime example of what can be done between communities and different political entities," said Carl Venne, who is chairman of the Crow Tribe and chairman of the tribal leaders council.

Methamphetamine abuse is of particular concern to tribal leaders.

"It's like a cancerous growth," said Gordon Belcourt, executive director of the tribal leaders council. "It has tentacles out there for suicide, tentacles for co-occurring disorders and mental-health problems, declines in productivity and high unemployment rates.

"It's really indicative of a culture and society in distress," Belcourt said.

Information from: Billings Gazette, http://www.billingsgazette.com

Mary Hudetz, Crow, is finishing her master's degree in journalism at the University of Montana in Missoula. A graduate of the Freedom Forum's 2006 American Indian Journalism Institute and a Chips Quinn Scholar, Hudetz interned as a reporter at the Star Tribune in Minneapolis last summer. This summer she'll intern as a reporter at the Denver bureau of The Associated Press.