Taos pueblo awareness coalition team

The Department of Health and Human Services Centers for Disease Control and Prevention awarded the Pueblo of Taos $125,000 on July 1, 2026, under the Drug-Free Communities Support Program Grants (CFDA 93.276) to fund the Taos Pueblo Awareness Coalition Team (TPACT), a community coalition working to prevent youth substance use and promote mental well-being across the Taos Pueblo and surrounding areas in north-central New Mexico.

TPACT delivers substance abuse prevention programming rooted in Pueblo traditions and community values, targeting alcohol and marijuana misuse, which local data identifies as the most prevalent substances among youth. The coalition comprises partnerships across Taos Pueblo, the Town of Taos, and Taos County, drawing participation from education, law enforcement, health services, media, nonprofits, and community leadership. Programming is monitored through qualitative data collection via town halls, focus groups, and youth group meetings, as well as quantitative data from local and state-sponsored surveillance systems, with findings used to adapt activities in real-time to community needs.

The award runs from July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2031. The Drug-Free Communities Support Program establishes and strengthens collaboration among community coalitions, public and nonprofit agencies, and federal, state, local, and tribal governments to reduce substance abuse among youth and address risk factors within communities.

Abstract

Taos pueblo awareness coalition team (tpact) proposal to drug free communities taos pueblo is home to the red willow people, a legally recognized political classification used to describe this native american pueblo community. Located at the base of the sangre DE cristo mountains in north-central new mexico, the pueblo honor traditions passed on through over a thousand years of existence. Taos pueblo prides itself on the strength of traditions, ancestral heritage, and the protection of homelands. Using policy and education, taos pueblo is tenacious and persistent in practicing pueblo traditions. Collectively, there is a belief ingrained in taos pueblo identity: what we have is worth saving. The taos pueblo awareness coalition team (tpact) formed with the vision of taos pueblo as the thriving community our ancestors prayed for, and our children deserve. The tpact is comprised of partnership across taos pueblo, the town of taos, and the county of taos, representing education, law enforcement, health services, media, nonprofits, and leadership. Tpact's mission is to revitalize the community's core values in tradition, education, and action to prevent youth substance abuse, in the interest of building skills and strength in the youth and families of the red willow nation. Tpact seeks drug free community (DFC) partnership and support to fulfill its mission of preventing youth substance use and promoting mental well-being. In recent years, tpact data has shown that alcohol and marijuana are the most misused substances, and current and planned programming reflect these findings. Activities are monitored, reported, and data used to adapt programming to the needs of the community in real-time. Tpact monitors youth substance use through qualitative data and quantitative data collected locally and through state-sponsored surveillance. Qualitatively, data is collected through town halls, focus groups, youth group meetings, and community forums. Quantitatively, tpact uses the youth risk resiliency survey (yrrs), a state-wide tool modeled on the CDC's youth risk behavior survey (yrbs); as well as the drug free communities sixteen core measures, which are collected and analyzed through a partnership with the new mexico department of health (DOH). This allows tpact to monitor taos county and taos pueblo and compare use rates with new mexico and across the united states.