Native Americans struggling with substance use find healing and connection through sweat lodges

Great Circle Recovery is the first tribally run opioid treatment clinic in the state and is opening up its second location. Approximately 250 people visit the clinic on a daily basis to access medications that help those suffering from addiction. The centers also provide access to counselors, case management and other medical services to support patients on their recovery journey.

West Virginia University and Monongalia County's intensive, clinically-integrated harm reduction model and Ohio University and Athens County's community-centered, peer-support program offer two distinct approaches to combating the opioid epidemic in Appalachian communities. Both programs leverage harm reduction practices and have seen significant decreases in overdose deaths.

Health engagement hubs like Washington state’s Buprenorphine Pathways connect people with prescriptions for methadone and buprenorphine to help treat addiction. In addition to medication and a syringe-exchange program, the hub also connects patients to social services, taking a more holistic approach to addiction treatment.

The Cherokee Nation harm reduction program provides supplies like clean needles and Narcan to those using drugs and even offers safe, clean environments for drug use with staff available to assist during overdoses. As opioid addiction has disproportionately impacted Indigenous communities, the program also provides opportunities for people in recovery to participate in cultural activities. So far, the program has encountered several thousand people and has saved 44 lives with Narcan distribution.

The Olympia Bupe Clinic's walk-in model for treating opioid addiction allows patients to receive medication-assisted treatment with buprenorphine on their first visit without barriers or extensive wait times. This low-barrier approach eliminates the hurdles people often face when seeking treatment. The Clinic also hires staff with lived experience with addiction to build trust and community with patients.

Talk Overdose provides peer-delivered education to youth in seventh to twelfth grade about overdose prevention. The group of teens also provides naloxone training, hosts guest speakers and interactive workshops that teach empathetic listening skills. Talk Overdose was formed in 2021 and has since reached over 1,500 youth across the country and has stated to offer Indigenous culture workshops, as a connection to culture has shown to have a positive impact on mental health and wellbeing.

Harm reduction is a quickly growing practices that aims to reduce drug-related deaths and the spread of disease often caused by dirty needles. Although public perception is still widely negative, the industry has seen success by using the act of offering clean needles as a first point of contact to offer other health and medical services.

In order to tackle opioid addiction, the state of Virginia found a way to make drug treatment accessible to people with medicaid by boosting “reimbursement rates to addiction treatment providers.” Historically, drug treatment hasn’t been covered by health insurance. Virginia is changing that. Already, “the percent of Medicaid members with an opioid use disorder who received treatment went up by 29 percent from April to December 2017 compared to the same period the previous year.”

In Española, New Mexico, a state-funded program called the Pathways Community HUB Model brings law enforcement, health care providers, and treatment centers together to make sure they have a whole picture of each addiction patient's medical and criminal background. The program allows all entities to have access to a single database with medical and criminal records, allowing people working to combat addiction in the community to have a better idea of each patient's story.

In Benin, indigenous beliefs, knowledge, and traditional governance systems are helping communities protect biodiversity and adapt to climate change. Vodun, a spiritual practice that protects fragile and vital ecosystems, has enabled the preservation of more than 1,200 acres of mangroves over the last decade.