MENDOCINO CO., 7/31/25 — The Consolidated Tribal Health Project, a nonprofit health clinic in Redwood Valley that is governed by a consortium of eight federally recognized tribes, received a $68,986 grant to address opioid use in Mendocino County, particularly among Native American communities.
The grant was awarded through the Tribal Opioid Response program, which is overseen by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, a federal agency that funds efforts to address opioid use and overdoses in Native American communities. SAMHSA is an agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
The Tribal Opioid Response program was created to expand access to U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved medications for opioid use disorder and to provide harm reduction services, rehabilitation programs and youth-focused prevention efforts to Native Americans.
According to the California Department of Public Health, Native Americans in Mendocino County have some of the highest rates of opioid-related overdose deaths of any racial group.
Molly Brown, a psychotherapist with a focus on addiction and clinical social worker at the Consolidated Tribal Health Project, said the clinic also received assistance in obtaining the grant by working with the California Rural Indian Health Board, a nonprofit founded in 1969 to restore and enhance health care for Native American communities.
The health board helps member tribal clinics secure federal funding, training and other resources, serving as a liaison between California’s tribal health programs and the federal government.
Brown explained that the Consolidated Tribal Health Project had to meet certain requirements to be eligible for the grant funding. She said the grant directed the health center to use the money for specific tasks and provided a list of about 16 requirements. One of those requests, Brown said, was for the center to install vending machines that would dispense Narcan medication that can reverse the effects of an opioid overdose and save lives.
“The list breaks it down into required and optional items, and from there we determine how much of the list we can get done,” Brown added.
Another requirement was for the Consolidated Tribal Health Project to create and oversee a tribal youth council to lead a social media campaign with videos, graphics and visual trainings to educate people about the opioid crisis in Native American communities.
Brown said the health center has already created a council, with about 17 Native American youth working on the campaign. The participants are largely from the Coyote Valley Band of Pomo Indians and have made social media profiles on both Instagram and TikTok.
“For me, that’s been the most impactful thing we will be doing with this grant money and get these kids fired up,” Brown emphasized. “They have been hosting an outreach table, they gave out Narcan, fentanyl test strips, they tell you what to do if you see someone having an overdose and they give out resources.”
Most of the grant money for the tribal youth council’s social media campaign is being used for filming equipment, editing software and a media consultant.
Brown said that while most of the youth council members are from one tribe, the clinic hopes to involve young people from other Mendocino County tribes as well.
“Right now, the youth council is mostly made up of kids from the Coyote Valley Band of Pomo Indians. The Hopland Youth Council also wants to join before the end of the year, but that hasn’t been arranged yet,” she added.
As a health care provider, Brown said she is grateful the Consolidated Tribal Health Project has more resources to address opioid addiction in the county. She said it’s rewarding to see the fruits of their labor.
“It’s why I do what I do,” Brown exclaimed. “We want to make an impact, and we want to make positive change, and we want to help people. This is a way that we can directly create a positive impact. It’s incredibly rewarding.”