"the People's Paths!" Cherokee News Path - Cherokees Receive Recovery Assistance Grant

"Dr. John Gastorf (left)
of Cherokee Nation Behavioral Health Services stands with Rear Admiral Eric Broderick, Deputy Director, SAMHSA, after the announcement awarding the Cherokee Nation an Access to Recovery grant. The grant will allow participants to choose from different levels of treatment, from conventional medical providers to faith-based and traditional healers."

TAHLEQUAH, Oklahoma - The Cherokee Nation has received a three-year grant to provide treatment and recovery options for Cherokee citizens seeking to recover from substance abuse.

The Access to Recovery grant will be used to fund a new program, entitled “Many Paths,” through the Cherokee Nation Behavioral Health department.

“This program will give our people a choice in their treatment and recovery at all levels,” said Dr. John Gastorf of Cherokee Nation Behavioral Health Services. “Not only will those seeking treatment have a choice in their options of providers, but they will be taking an active voice in their path to recovery.”

The program will allow participants to choose from different levels of treatment, from conventional medical providers to faith-based and traditional healers. All providers must attend Native American cultural sensitivity courses as well as meet the requirements established by the Cherokee Nation and by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which is administering the grant.

The Many Paths program will operate under a voucher structure, wherein patients in the program will be issued vouchers for their level of care. The program will begin with 20 screening sites across the Cherokee Nation and other areas in eastern and central Oklahoma.