The Indian Pueblo Cultural Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Photo from Facebook
William J. Baer of the Department of Justice, U.S. Attorney Damon P. Martinez and Gil Vigil of Eight Northern Indian Pueblos Inc. explain how federal officials and tribes are working together to address the heroin and opioid epidemic through the HOPE Initiative:
In New Mexico – a state that, in 2014, had the second-highest per capita overdose death rate in the country – we are seeing the benefits of collaboration. In 2015, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Mexico partnered with the University of New Mexico’s Health Sciences Center to launch the HOPE (Heroin and Opioid Prevent and Education) Initiative. This program works with local community organizations, such as the Bernalillo County Opioid Accountability Initiative, and is focused on strengthening diversion, rehabilitation and reentry programs. This week, the HOPE Initiative will host a listening session with the leadership of the Eight Northern Indian Pueblos Council, representing eight of New Mexico’s 22 federally recognized tribes located in a region of the state hardest hit by the opioid epidemic. They will be joined by the U.S. Attorney, senior leadership in the Office of the Deputy Attorney General, Indian Health Service employees who provide care to the state’s Native American population, and University of New Mexico physicians who are providing pain and addiction training to Indian Health Service providers throughout the country.Read More:
William J. Baer, Damon P. Martinez , and Gil Vigil: Partnership to tackle heroin, opioid epidemic (The Albuquerque Journal 9/21) Also Today:
Tribal leaders meet with feds in push against opioid abuse (AP 9/21)
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