First up, Minnesota Democrat and U.S. Sen. Tina Smith has sent a letter to federal education and health officials demanding accessible, comprehensive and culturally competent mental health care for Indigenous youth during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the letter, Smith and many other senate colleagues said that Native American and Alaska Native youth already faced mental and behavioral health challenges before the pandemic and may have an especially hard time finding care right now, during the pandemic.
Smith says that, due to so many seeking care at school, the federal administration needs to work to find solutions to reach these students while schools are closed.
Smith says Congress and federal agencies must act quickly to ensure Native communities and schools serving Native students have the resources they need to address health challenges facing Native youth.
Eight senators total, including Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, signed the letter. A new shelter for Native people experiencing homelessness is set to open before the end of the year in Minneapolis.
It’s one of three new shelters that have been funded through a partnership between the city, county and state.
City officials say the culturally-specialized shelter for Native Americans — proposed by the American Indian Community Development Center — will be located at the intersection of Cedar and Franklin.
A second shelter near downtown Minneapolis will provide “deeply affordable housing” for those experiencing homelessness, including the medically vulnerable and veterans.
The third shelter, located in north Minneapolis, will be geared toward women experiencing homelessness.
In total, there’ll be 167 units for housing and a minimum of 110 shelter beds.
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