Protecting Native Youth Starts With Culturally Grounded Prevention

Strong communities raise strong children, and that truth drives every investment in Indian Country’s future.

FORE Awards $550,000 Grant to Expand Walking in Strength on Pine Ridge

The Foundation for Opioid Response Efforts (FORE) has awarded a $550,000 two-year grant to Project Venture, an Indigenous-led nonprofit with nearly 40 years of experience strengthening Native populations through culturally grounded youth programming. The funding expands Walking in Strength, a community-driven initiative on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota that engages Oglala Lakota middle and high school students through outdoor activities, service projects, and leadership training. Since launching in 2022, the program has reached nearly 600 students with evaluation data showing measurable gains in cultural connectedness and empathy — protective factors that reduce substance use risk among Our Relatives.

A Coalition Built Around Native Health and Culture Awareness

Walking in Strength unites educators, Native practitioners, health care providers, public safety leaders, and housing specialists across Pine Ridge to coordinate a unified youth substance use prevention strategy. Project Venture will also partner with the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg Center for Indigenous Health to evaluate outcomes and plan long-term sustainability. FORE has additionally funded the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium and Avivo in Minneapolis, advancing culturally competent care and overdose prevention for Indigenous communities and unsheltered Native American community members nationwide.

Ellsworth Stands With Our Native Youth

Ellsworth, a Native owned small business and ISBEE-certified medical staffing company, applauds FORE and Project Venture for this critical work! Programs like Walking in Strength honor Indigenous traditions, protect our elders’ legacies, and empower youth across our communities. Culturally aware prevention rooted in community leadership is exactly what Indian Country needs — and Ellsworth is proud to endorse efforts that put Native health first.