The Citizen Potawatomi Nation donated $1.7 million to Gateway to Prevention and Recovery, Inc. to help the mental health agency continue to serve the community after state funding cuts threatened to cripple its operation.
Gateway, located in Shawnee, Oklahoma, is a non-profit organization that offers treatment services and wellness programs to address mental health, substance misuse and gambling addiction in rural Oklahoma.
The funds will help Gateway retire the debt on its newly constructed facility after it was one of many providers in the state that did not receive expected funds from the Oklahoma State Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services in 2025.
“This is an incredibly generous donation,” said Jon Greenwood, CEO of Gateway. “It means the world to us. It means our mission and vision can still be accomplished.”
Greenwood said the cuts from the state agency had forced them to downsize staff and operations and close an office in Seminole. Without this donation, the organization may have been forced to sell the new Shawnee facility to stay open. The donation will allow them to maintain the facility and continue providing important services to Tribal citizens and to the community within and near the Potawatomi reservation.
“These services are important. We are happy to be able to provide the funding Gateway needs to continue to help people and families in our community. This is another example of how tribal partnerships can benefit everyone,” CPN Tribal Chairman John “Rocky” Barrett said.
The agreement between CPN and Gateway states that the organization must provide services to prevent and treat opioid use, as well as other substance use and mental health conditions, among both Native and non-Native clients in Pottawatomie County and on the Tribe’s reservation.
The funds for the donation come from the National Opioids Settlement Agreement proceeds, which can be used to promote and prevent opioid use disorder and other substance use and mental health conditions.