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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: April 21 2022

Contacts:
Brooke Stroyke, Office of the Governor
Jon Ebelt, Department of Public Health and Human Services

Gov. Gianforte, DPHHS Award Tribal Nations $500,000 Through HEART Fund

HELENA, Mont. – Governor Greg Gianforte today joined Department of Public Health and Human Services (DPHHS) Director Adam Meier to announce the distribution of $500,000 to Montana’s eight Tribal Nations through the Healing and Ending Addiction Through Recovery and Treatment (HEART) Fund.

“Acting with the urgency the drug crisis requires, we made a historic investment last year in substance abuse prevention and treatment programs through the HEART Fund. Rather than create bigger government, we designed the program to be community-led, because communities know their local needs best,” Gov. Gianforte said.

He continued, “With these eight grants, the state is partnering with Tribal Nations to close gaps in treatment and prevention and help those combating addiction regain their health and rebuild their lives.”

Introduced by the governor during his first week in office as a central component of his budget, the HEART Fund invests $25 million per year to provide for a full continuum of substance use prevention and treatment programs for communities.

In addition to supporting nonprofits and NGOs that serve Montana’s urban, rural, and tribal communities, the HEART Fund provides $500,000 in grants directly to Tribal Nations each year for substance use disorder (SUD) prevention; mental health promotion; mental health crisis, treatment, and recovery services; and tobacco prevention and cessation. Each Tribal Nation will receive $62,500. DPHHS will receive a report from each Tribal Nation at the end of July with specific details of how the funds were used.

“Addressing the drug epidemic we face in Montana is one of DPHHS’ top priorities,” Meier said. “These funds will address the unique needs of each Tribal Nation, and we look forward to seeing their impact in our tribal communities.”

Dale Fourbear, Director of Fort Peck’s Spotted Bull Recovery Resource Center, is eager to put this funding to use on the Fort Peck Reservation.

“We appreciate this funding, and we are committed to improving our chemical dependency/behavioral health continuum of care,” Fourbear said. “This funding will be used to enhance our efforts in providing culturally-based and strength-based chemical dependency/behavioral health services in the areas of prevention, intervention, and support for the communities of the Fort Peck Tribes. There is much work ahead, but this is a great start and we’re grateful for this partnership to tackle such important issues.”

Services provided or activities funded by the grants are limited to items that are not reimbursable through Medicaid, reimbursed through other contracts provided by DPHHS, or reimbursed directly through a federal grant.