Tribal Opioid Response Project

“A person dies every 12-and-a-half minutes from an opioid overdose and that’s far too many.”

-US Surgeon General, Vice Admiral Jerome Adams, MD, MPH; 2018 online article

The Tribal Opioid Response project at United Indian Health Services, Inc (UIHS) is funded by the Department of Health and Human Services’ Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and serves UIHS Consortium Tribes in Humboldt and Del Norte Counties.

Rob England, HPE Manager

Amanda Colegrove, HPE Supervisor

Robin Johnson, HPE Specialist

The project aims to address the opioid crisis in tribal communities by increasing access to culturally appropriate treatment; address stimulant misuse and use disorders; and adequately provide support services for opioid use disorder (OUD), including medication assisted treatment (MAT).

The project currently focuses on four main goals:

  • GOAL 1: Provide increased access to opioid-related prevention activities within our local tribal communities.
  • GOAL 2: Increase our local tribal community’s knowledge of traditional and other forms of pain management techniques that address better ways to cope with and manage chronic pain.
  • GOAL 3: Increase UIHS’ capacity to provide effective, culturally-driven treatment services to clients with opioid use disorder.GOAL 4: Increase our local tribal community’s ability to prevent opioid overdose deaths.

For more information on the Tribal Opioid Response Project, click here. 

The TOR Program works under UIHS Tribal Public Health Department and alongside the other Health Promotion and Education programs. It oversees and facilitates the Opioid Awareness Coalition.