The penobscot indian nation seeks $999,474 to enhance the tribes existing healing to wellness court by expanding access to tribal citizens who do not have an active criminal involvement, are decedents…

The Penobscot Indian Nation was awarded a $999,474 Project Grant from the U.S. Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Assistance under the Treatment Court Discretionary Grant Program (CFDA 16.585). The grant funding will be used to enhance the Penobscot Healing to Wellness Court (HTWC) by expanding access to tribal citizens who are not enrolled members but have other connections to the Penobscot Nation, as well as non-Native spouses or domestic partners of Penobscot citizens. The project aims to break the cycle of criminal behavior, substance use, incarceration, and family/community breakdown by providing expanded substance use disorder treatment, case management, and recovery services to the target population. Key goals include establishing an interjurisdictional, multi-system HTWC model for Penobscot County, increasing successful program completions and long-term sobriety, and implementing a culturally responsive peer recovery program. The grant award period is from October 1, 2023 to September 30, 2027.

The penobscot indian nation seeks $999,474 to enhance the tribes existing healing to wellness court by expanding access to tribal citizens who do not have an active criminal involvement, are decedents of penobscot citizens but are not enrolled member of the tribe and are non-native spouses or domestic partners of a penobscot citizen. The penobscot htwc will implement a no wrong door approach to strengthen outreach, increase referrals, and build a network of community upport. Training will be provided to tribal government staff who are public facing and interact with the community. Opioid abuse and substance use disorder remains epidemic in the penobscot nation. In 2022 there were 14 confirmed and suspected fatal overdoses of native americans in maine, a fatality rate more than twice that of other racial groups. Penobscot county, where the reservation is located, has seen overdose fatalities per 100,000 nearly double from 2019 (34.8) to 2020 (62.0) (maine shared community health needs assessment (chna) 2022). While the public interest in the opioid crisis seems to have decreased, the number of opioid fatalities and opioid-related emergency visits continue to rise. The nations penobscot nation health departments (pnhd) opioid treatment program (also known as the suboxone program), has nearly 100 patients participating and are enrolling new patients regularly. Goal 1: to break the cycle of criminal behavior, alcohol and/or drug use, incarceration, other penalties, and family and community breakdown, by expanding substance use disorder treatment, case management and wraparound recovery services available to native americans through the htwc. Goal 2: to establish an interjurisdictional, multisystem htwc model for penobscot county that reduces native american incarceration rates, increases access to culturally responsive interventions and treatment services, and closes gaps in the continuum of SUD and CO-occurring disorder treatment. Goal 3: to increase the number of htwc participants who successfully complete the program, become, and remain sober, and are restored as productive family and community members by conduct a program process and outcome evaluation and implementing recommended program modifications. Goal 4: increase the success rate and decrease the relapse rate of htwc participants by implementing a well-trained culturally responsive peer recovery program for htwc participants and graduates.