On Friday, the activist group Stolen People, Stolen Benefits will hold a walk in Phoenix to continue raising awareness about the displacement of Native American people who were taken to fake sober living homes. Advocates like Reva Stewart who do outreach in Phoenix say they’re continuing to see an increase in the number of unhoused people who need help returning to tribal communities like the Zuni Pueblo in New Mexico and the Navajo Nation. That’s after Governor of Arizona Katie Hobbs announced the state would crack down on these fraudulent facilities in May. Stewart says that an activist in their group who is a White Mountain Apache tribal member recently lost a close friend to a drug overdose in a Phoenix area group home. Almost one year after the first news stories on fraudulent Arizona group homes broke, it appears many facilities are finding ways to operate and recruit even after having their payments from the state Medicaid agency suspended.
Chris Clements is a former news reporter for KSJD. He had previously covered literary arts as a reporter for The Chautauquan Daily in Chautauqua, New York, and graduated with a degree in English from Arizona State University. At KSJD, Chris has collaborated with KUNC (northern Colorado NPR) on water conservation stories, and had his spots regularly featured on NPR's national newscasts.