Award Information
Description of original award (Fiscal Year 2022, $1,000,000)
The Pueblo of Pojoaque, a federally recognized American Indian Tribe, is in north-central New Mexico and is one of the six Northern Tewa-speaking Rio Grande Pueblos. The Pueblo is in the Pojoaque Valley, 15 miles north of Santa Fe and 10 miles south of Rio Arriba County, and situated along interstate US 84/285, a major highway with more than 25,000 commuters per day. This level of traffic, and the Pueblo’s proximity to Rio Arriba County, a county that has historically had one of the highest rates of drug-related deaths, makes the community vulnerable to the sale and distribution of illicit substances.
The proposed project will provide services to individuals and families of the Pueblo of Pojoaque, the Hispanic communities in Pojoaque Valley, and the tribal communities of San Idefonso, Nambe, Santa Clara, Tesuque, and Ohkay Owingeh. The purpose of the program is to (1) enhance evidence-based harm reduction efforts within the Pueblo of Pojoaque, (2) expand access to recovery support services for individuals with substance use problems, and (3) support evidence-based culturally centered prevention efforts to reduce youth substance use. The long-term program goals are to prevent substance use among youth and reduce the impact of substance abuse on individuals and the community.
The project will focus on three specific allowable activities described in the solicitation:
Naloxone education and distribution for law enforcement and first responders, (6.53% of the overall budget)
Education and prevention programs to connect law enforcement agencies with K-12 students (5.0% of the overall budget), and
Evidence-based substance use disorder treatment related to opioids, stimulants, and other illicit drugs, as well as harm reduction activities and recovery support services (5.63% of the overall budget).
Within each activity and trainings offered, the program will give priority to American Indian Tribal members in an effort to promote racial equity and remove any barriers to access. The program will design a culturally responsive program that represents the Pueblo and fills existing gaps created by colonization and the forced removal of traditional ways. Page 11 through 16 of the proposal describes culturally-based training, programming, and evaluation that will be used when developing and implementing the program.