Navajo law enforcement teams made contact with several hundred Native Americans from various tribes who are living on the streets in the metro Phoenix area, after the state cracked down on Medicaid fraud and suspended unlicensed sober living homes, Navajo Nation Attorney General Ethel Branch said Monday. Read the Full Story Here
Teams that included Navajo police officers reported making contact with more than 270 Native Americans, the majority of them Navajo, Branch said.
Many tribal members accepted offers to stay in motel rooms or other temporary housing for a few days before moving to legitimate facilities, while others agreed to return home to their reservations, Branch said. The teams worked with local police agencies and Community Bridges, Inc., a nonprofit that provides services for people with addictions.
“Unfortunately, many of our relatives when they came out of these facilities didn't have cell phones,” Branch said, adding that Navajo police officers allowed the people they found to use their own cell phones to call their families.
