The Cherokee Nation is the only tribe in the country selected for a new federal behavioral health grant totaling $3 million a year for four years.

 

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services says the funding will help communities develop coordinated care for people experiencing homelessness and serious mental illness, substance use disorders, or both.

 

The program, administered by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, will distribute $96 million nationwide over four years.

 

Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. recently met with HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in California to discuss healthcare priorities for the Cherokee Nation and Indian Country. Hoskin serves on the HHS Secretary’s Tribal Advisory Committee.

 

Deputy Chief Bryan Warner says the Cherokee Nation is continuing to expand behavioral health services, including construction of its own substance abuse treatment center using opioid settlement funds.

 

The new grant will provide additional resources for behavioral health services across the Cherokee Nation.