Award Information
Description of original award (Fiscal Year 2021, $600,000)
The Tuolumne Band of Me-Wuk Indians propose a program to deliver substance abuse services to American Indians in its service area. The services will be delivered to American Indians and their dependents in Tuolumne County, California, including in the Tuolumne County Jail. Services will also extend to Mariposa and Calaveras Counties, which are served by the Tuolumne Band of Me-Wuk Indians Temporary Aid to Needy Families Program. The Covid-19 Pandemic has profoundly and negatively impacted tribal services, including the Tribe’s substance abuse and indeed all mental health services. While the ability to fund services has decreased, the COVID-19 Pandemic greatly increased the demand for services as members have been furloughed or lost jobs and watched as their financial security has evaporated, all of which pushed some people deeper into depression and illicit drug and alcohol use and abuse.
Funding at this juncture will be used to continue the employment of the Tribe’s Licensed Advance Alcohol and Drug Counselor, Certified Clinical Supervisor and Certified Domestic Violence Advocate. The funding will also allow the Tribe to hire a second certified Substance Abuse Counselor who will allow the Tribe to meet the need for services that already exists. In addition, the easing of Covid-19 restrictions will allow the Tribe’s existing Alcohol and Drug Counselor to restart services in the Tuolumne County Jail and meet the overwhelming need for culturally appropriate services for those incarcerated there.