UMass Boston School for Global Inclusion receives additional grant to prevent opioid addiction in Native youth

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health’s Bureau of Substance Addiction Services has awarded UMass Boston’s Institute for New England Native American Studies (INENAS) a contract for over $600,000 to provide outreach and activities in the Native American community for those affected by alcohol and opioid misuse. The award is a supplement to a previous contract which also aims at preventing addiction and substance abuse for Native youth throughout Massachusetts.

INENAS will continue to collaborate with UMass Boston’s College of Nursing and Health Sciences and the Bureau of Substance Addiction Services, as well as the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribethe Nipmuc Indian Development CorporationNative American LifeLines, Inc., and the North American Indian Center of Boston, to implement the activities. Native youth will participate in digital storytelling, sports activities, wellness retreats, and other approaches to enhance capacity for Native communities in the battle against substance misuse. The contract will run through June 30, 2020. 

About INENAS
First established in 2007 in partnership with the Massachusetts Commission on Indian Affairs and the leadership of Native tribes in six New England states, in 2015, INENAS became part of the University of Massachusetts Boston’s School for Global Inclusion and Social Development. The mission of INENAS is to develop collaborative relationships, projects, and programs between the Native American tribes of New England and the University of Massachusetts Boston and sister campuses so that the tribes may participate in and benefit from university research, innovation, and education. To learn more, visit https://www.umb.edu/inenas.