Dear Friends,

May 2024 will forever be a benchmark in the history of CLUES (Comunidades Latinas Unidas En Servicio). After four+ years of working on expanding our mental and chemical health clinical services, our “Abriendo Caminos” Clinic has officially achieved certification as a Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic (CCBHC).

This certification is a milestone for CLUES and the Latino community in Minnesota as we are unique locally and nationally for our mission-focused services to the Latino community. This new status allows us to bill insurance for the true cost of our clinical services, thus providing sustainability for the broader array of mental and substance use disorder treatment services we offer for the Latino community in Minnesota. Our mission, and the Certified Community Behavioral Health (CCBHC) mandate, is to serve anyone who comes through our doors regardless of their insurance status.

Our expanded services now include substance use disorder treatment for teens, Adult Rehabilitative Mental Health Services (ARMHS), Adult Mental Health Case Management, Peer Recovery Services, and Medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD).

It has been difficult for our organization to sustain our expanded clinical services and meet the growing demand for services, particularly for those who are uninsured and underinsured. While sustainable permanent access to behavioral healthcare for underserved individuals is still unrealized, we are grateful to Minnesota Legislators for supporting our one-year bridge funding bill this session. This funding will allow us to sustain staff capacity in 2024-2025 while we work with State leadership to support permanent access to behavioral health services and preventive care for those not eligible for insurance coverage.

Your donations for behavioral health clinical services over the past year and private foundation support have greatly contributed to the expansion of services and staff capacity, which are so needed to meet community demand. We share our deepest gratitude to everyone who has supported CLUES Behavioral Health Clinics through this journey, and we request continued support in seeking sustainable solutions to assist those in need.

Please consider donating now to support our mission to advance social and economic equity and wellbeing for Latinos in Minnesota.

With gratitude,

Ruby Azurdia-Lee

President and CEO