Washington, D.C. – Rep. Raul M. Grijalva today hailed the recent announcement of two major grants to the Pascua Yaqui Tribe from the federal Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS). The grants of $839,650 and $1,000,000 will, respectively, help the Tribe establish a program to address mental health and substance abuse issues and plan an expansion of the Tribe’s health care system.

The $839,650 mental health and substance abuse grant will last for the next five years and expire in September 2017. The $1,000,000 planning grant will expire in September 2016.

“This is federal money doing exactly what it was intended to do: reducing hardship, making community-building possible, and helping lay the groundwork for more improvements down the line,” Grijalva said. “I applaud CMHS for recognizing the need, and I thank Tribal leaders for putting this funding to good use.”

CMHS is the federal body responsible for aiding individuals suffering from mental health or substance abuse issues and for mental health and substance abuse prevention efforts. These grants are made through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration, an arm of the Department of Health and Human Services.

For more information call Reuben Howard, head of the Tribe’s health department, at (520) 879-6000.