Community Health Education and Resiliency Program

Happy Holidays from CHERP!

As we close out another year, CHERP looks back with gratitude at our experiences collaborating with and serving tribal communities. Over the past year, we organized two summits, the Hope in Healing Native Opioid Summit and the Reimagine Youth Wellness: A Caring Adults Summit. Additionally, in April, we hosted the Circle of Harmony HIV/AIDS Wellness Conference, the sole Native American-focused HIV conference. CHERP also spearheads the coordination of the National Native HIV Network, an Indigenous-led initiative that mobilizes American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian communities affected by HIV through peer-to-peer support, programs, training, and capacity building assistance.

In addition to these efforts, we are proud to have offered numerous local trainings and events throughout the year. These initiatives have allowed us to connect more intimately with community members and share valuable insights. From these experiences, we've gained valuable insights that will shape our work in 2024:

Kinship and Connection: Moving towards healing and wellness is facilitated by the bonds we share. Being connected means being good relatives to all individuals, especially those who need love and compassion the most.

Challenging Harmful Beliefs: It's crucial to question beliefs and attitudes that may harm our relatives in the healing process.

Small, Gradual Change Matters: While the norm often emphasizes quick, large-scale changes, we've found that small, deliberate changes can profoundly impact the wellness of our communities.

Self-Care is a Priority: Taking care of ourselves must be a priority. Without self-care, we cannot effectively care for others. Rest is a powerful form of resistance.

As you celebrate the holiday season with your loved ones, we wish you moments filled with laughter, rest, and love.

Reimagine Youth Wellness

Earlier this month the CHERP team hosted the first Reimagine Youth Wellness: A Caring Adults Summit in Santa Fe, NM. This two-day summit included caring adults from many tribal communities throughout the IHS Albuquerque Area, coming together to learn, reflect, network, and collectively discuss how we can reimagine a future where young people can thrive and reach their full potential. The agenda included engaging presentations, panel discussions, and group activities facilitated by Project Venture. Some of the topics covered included trauma-informed care, historical trauma, strengths-based approaches, white supremacy culture and characteristics, the school to prison pipeline, reimagining education, and centering youth voices. Many participants expressed that they left the summit feeling inspired and motivated to implement what they learned in their communities.

Don’t miss next year’s Reimagine Youth Wellness Summit! We will be announcing details next spring—stay tuned!

Community Opioid Intervention Pilot Project

The CHERP Community Opioid Intervention Pilot Project offers Narcan training for Native communities, Native casinos, and Native organizations in the Southwest area.

The Narcan and Naloxone training is an hour-long training, starting with an opioid 101 education, then a short history of Narcan and Naloxone, the medication that reverses overdoses. The training will touch on stigma, the good Samaritan Law, Native protocol with traditional medicine, and how there should be a protocol for Western medicine.

Lee Torres, COIPP Project Coordinator, provides the Narcan and Naloxone training. Lee has been certified by the New Mexico Department of Health to provide Narcan and Naloxone training. Lee has been doing harm reduction and Narcan and Naloxone training since 2018. They are an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation. If you would like to request Narcan and Naloxone Training for your organization and/or community, please complete our Training Request Form at http://www.aaihb.org/training-request-form/

Already trained in how to administer Narcan and Naloxone? Feel free to order some free Narcan from CHERP by completing the online request form at http://www.aaihb.org/narcan-order-form/. We can mail the Narcan to your home or office.

International Day of Persons with Disabilities on December 3rd

Every year on December 3, we celebrate and acknowledge the International Day of Persons with Disabilities championing the rights and recognition of those with disabilities across the globe. It is a poignant reminder to empower those with disabilities and sustain inclusive, accessible spaces while fostering conversations on disability justice.

This is a day to build on the advocacy for equal opportunities and access to education, employment, healthcare, and full participation among all people and communities. The day’s international legacy underscores the importance of mending and creating alternatives to ableist structures discriminating and upholding prejudice, stereotypes, or exclusivity against people with disabilities. Ableism in every aspect must be addressed for it is based on ideas of ‘fixing’ or defining people by their disability.

On this International Day, we embrace the chance to transcend oppressive systems and break down physical, social, and other harmful barriers to collectively understand that everyone, regardless of ability, deserves to live full, dignified, and equitable lives. Happy International Day of Persons with Disabilities!

World AIDS Day 35: Remember and Commit

In 1988, World AIDS Day became the first international global health day. Each year, December 1 serves as a reminder of the global struggle to end HIV-related stigma, an opportunity to honor those we lost, and a rallying cry to continue working toward a day when HIV no longer affects our communities.

In 2023, the theme is “World AIDS Day 35: Remember and Commit” to commemorate 35 years of significant progress in addressing HIV/AIDS through medical research advancements, increased access to treatment and prevention, and a broader understanding of the virus. Through remembrance, we draw strength and determination to increase our efforts in fighting HIV and providing support to individuals living with HIV. It’s also an opportunity to reflect on the importance of compassion, empathy, and solidarity in the face of adversity.

The other aspect of the theme, “commit” emphasizes our collective responsibility to act. Each of us can make a difference in our communities, whether through working to improve health equity by increasing access to prevention, care, and treatment; promoting accurate education and awareness; or supporting programs that work tirelessly to serve those at risk and living with HIV. “Remember and Commit” reinforces the need for our whole society to respond to eliminate HIV.

For more information, visit HIV.gov here .

Download the 2023 WAD Poster

Online Supply Orders

The Community Health Education and Resiliency Program provides safer sex supplies (condoms, dental dams, lube), HIV Self-Test Kits, Narcan, Fentanyl Test Strips, and Deterra Pouches to individuals and organizations in the IHS Albuquerque Area. Please use the links below to order your supplies.

Safer Sex Supplies and HIV Self-Test Kits:

www.aaihb.org/safe-sex-kit-request/

Narcan, Fentanyl Test Strips, and Deterra Pouches:

https://www.aaihb.org/narcan-order-form/

For more information about online orders, contact Kurt at kbegaye@aaihb.org.