Through two grant programs, Ute Mountain Ute officials hope to reduce the number of tribal teenagers that use drugs.
With a philosophy that local drug problems require local solutions, a 2014 Drug-Free Communities Support Program grant was recently awarded to the tribe, said Tanya Amrine, Ute Mountain Ute education director.
The Ute Mountain Ute Tribal Youth Task Force Coalition was one of some 200 organizations across the country to receive the award, which aims to prevent youth substance use. Overseen by the Office of National Drug Control Policy, the grant program is managed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).
Amrine said the other grant received by the tribe came from the Circles of Care program, which is funded by SAMHSA’s Center for Mental Health Services. A grant for Native American communities, the program focuses on supporting children with severe emotional disturbances using culturally relevant approaches.
Ten other Native American tribes, health centers or activist organizations from Washington, California, South Dakota, Arizona, Oklahoma, Wisconsin and Alaska also received 2014-2017 Circles of Care grants.
Plans regarding both drug prevention grants were unveiled last week during a closed-door meeting with Montezuma-Cortez Re-1 school leaders. In response to a Cortez Journal request to open the May 7 meeting, Amrine said she was unopposed, but Re-1 Superintendent Alex Carter rejected the media proposal.
“As this is not a public meeting and since we did not inform those who have been invited to attend that media will be present, we are going to keep it closed,” Carter said in an email statement.
Carter said he initiated last week’s meeting after discussions with tribal officials, adding the meeting was held to ensure that all stakeholders were aware of their roles in order for a more effective outcome.
After the meeting, neither Amrine nor Carter responded to a Journal email seeking details about the grants and what measures or programs would be implemented to reduce teen drug use.
According to a 2009 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, the latest data available, nearly 1 in 5 Native American teens ages 12 or older indicated they were current users of illicit drugs, meaning they had used illicit drugs within 30 days prior to responding to the survey.
tbaker@cortezjournal.com