Yurok Tribe receives $1.6M Center for Substance Abuse Treatment Projects of Regional and National Significance grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration

Yurok tribal overdose prevention and village care project - the yurok tribal overdose prevention and village care project will strengthen overdose prevention, response, and recovery systems throughout humboldt county, del norte county, and the yurok reservation. The project addresses the unique challenges facing rural and geographically isolated communities, including high overdose rates, limited access to treatment and recovery services, travel barriers, provider shortages, and extended emergency response times. The project will increase access to opioid overdose reversal medications (oorms), strengthen first responder and community response capacity, and implement the mey-wo-le-ne-pek' village care model, a community-informed post-overdose response framework that provides recovery navigation, warm handoffs, and coordinated referrals to treatment, recovery support services, healthcare, housing, tribal court programming, and other supportive services. The project will serve first responders and community members residing throughout humboldt county, del norte county, and the yurok reservation. The target population includes adults age 18 and older affected by opioid, stimulant, alcohol, and polysubstance use disorders; individuals who have experienced an overdose; justice-involved individuals; veterans; individuals experiencing housing instability; and individuals with co-occurring mental health conditions. The project will directly serve approximately 539 unduplicated first responders and community members over the four-year project period. The project focuses on rural and geographically isolated communities within humboldt county, del norte county, and the yurok reservation where overdose rates are high and access to treatment, recovery services, and emergency response resources is limited. Project strategies include overdose prevention education, oorm training and distribution, public-access naloxone distribution locations, community anchor engagement, resource mapping, training-of-trainers activities, post-overdose outreach, crisis stabilization, recovery navigation, care coordination, community mentorship, warm handoffs, and referral services. Project goals are to increase capacity to recognize, respond to, and prevent opioid overdoses; implement the mey-wo-le-ne-pek' village care model; establish a sustainable tribal overdose response system; and strengthen community-based overdose prevention infrastructure. Key objectives include establishing at least five public-access naloxone distribution locations, implementing a multidisciplinary village care team, ensuring at least 85 percent of participants receive a documented warm handoff to services, ensuring at least 75 percent participate in follow-up contacts, completing resource mapping within six months, and developing a sustainability plan to support continuation of project activities beyond the grant period.