Resources

Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI) Resources and Support Programs to Assist Parents/Caregivers in the Kinship Program

Kinship relative definition: (A) a person who has reached the age of eighteen who is related by blood or marriage to a child, including but not limited to grandparent, aunt or uncle, brother or sister, in-laws, niece, or nephew, first or second cousins, or stepparents; or (B) a person who provides parenting to a child in the traditional Cherokee way; or (C) an individual with a substantial relationship to the child.

Tribal programs that provide support, resources, and assistance to kinship are provided for your convenience. If you need further assistance with any of the listed resources or support programs, please call Family Safety at (828) 359-1520.

“This speaks to the [Cherokee] culture—Cherokee people didn’t need to be blood related to be family.”   – Lisa Young

 

Resources

On the following pages, resources are listed under the following categories:

Social and Support Services

Analenisgi Recovery Center
Website:
https://cherokeehospital.org/locations/analenisgi/
Phone: (828) 497-9163; (828) 497-6892
Description: Provides adult outpatient and recovery center services with an emphasis on Cherokee history, arts, crafts, and the unique healing aspects of Cherokee culture.

Cancer Support Group
Phone: (828) 497-0788
Description: Provides counseling and support services to cancer patients that may include supplies, travel, and meals.

Car Seat Program
Website: https://phhs.ebci-nsn.gov/tsalagi-public-health/
Phone: (828) 359-6216
Eligibility: EBCI enrollment card must be presented.
Description: Provides up to two car seats per child at a fraction of the cost.

Child Advocacy Heart to Heart
Website: https://phhs.ebci-nsn.gov/heart-to-heart/
Phone: (828) 359-6313
Description: Assists victims of child abuse and their families throughout the child’s involvement in the prosecution process.

Child Support & Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)
Website: https://phhs.ebci-nsn.gov/tanf/
Cherokee Phone: (828) 497-4317
Snowbird Phone: (828) 479-1000
Eligibility & Service Area: Serves families who are enrolled members of EBCI or other federally recognized tribes and live on the Cherokee Indian Reservation in parts of Swain, Jackson, Cherokee, Graham, and Haywood counties in Western North Carolina. In addition to being an enrolled member and living on the Qualla Boundary, you must have at least one minor child in the home.

Domestic Violence
Website: https://phhs.ebci-nsn.gov/domestic-violence/
Phone: (828) 359-6830
Description: Assists individuals with situations involving domestic violence, stalking, sexual assault, and dating violence by offering services to empower the victim and break the cycle of abuse.

Family Safety Program
Website: https://phhs.ebci-nsn.gov/family-safety/
Phone: (828) 359-1520
Description: Provides child and adult protective services to the children and families in the Cherokee community.

Family Support Services—Snowbird
Website: https://phhs.ebci-nsn.gov/family-support-services/
Phone: (828) 346-6975; (828) 359-6092
Description: Assist residents of the Qualla Boundary with public and social welfare issues such as child custody, family problems, and financial hardships.

Handicapped & Elderly Living Program “H.E.L.P.”
Website: https://ebci.com/services/departments/department-of-education/handicapped-elderly-living-program/
Phone: (828) 359-6925
Eligibility & Description: Provides home repair services to Senior citizens (59 ½ and older) who are enrolled members of the EBCI. Enrolled members who are 59 ½ or younger with a medical and/or mental disability may also apply for assistance with home repairs. Applicants under 59 ½ years of age are required to provide a copy of their Social Security Disability Statement.

Juvenile Services
Website: https://phhs.ebci-nsn.gov/juvenile-services/
Phone: (828) 359-6832
Description: Ensures the safety of the community and the well-being and safety of the youths under the juvenile services care, holds juvenile offenders accountable to victims and communities, and assists youths in developing competency and character to aid them in becoming successful members of society.

Kanvwotiyi Treatment Center Snowbird
Website: https://cherokeehospital.org/locations/the-kanvwotiyi-residential-treatment-center/
Phone: (828) 346-6000
Description: Provides residential treatment in the Snowbird Community.

Public Health & Human Services
Website: https://phhs.ebci-nsn.gov/
Cherokee Phone: (828) 359-6882
Snowbird Phone: (828) 346-6991
24/7 Public Health Emergency Phone: (828) 359-6180
Description: Programs designed to improve individual—and community—quality of life.

Public Safety
Website: https://ebci.com/services/departments/department-of-operations/emergency-services/
Phone: (828) 359-6431
Description: Provides emergency services and can provide emergency assistance to the EBCI communities and visitors.

Qualla Housing Authority
Website: https://ebci.com/services/departments/department-of-housing/qualla-housing/
Phone: (828) 359-6320
Eligibility & Description: Provides affordable, decent, safe, and sanitary housing for members of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.

Senior Citizens Program
Website: https://ebci.com/services/departments/department-of-education/senior-citizens-program/
Phone: (828) 359-6860
Eligibility & Description: Provides assistance to older persons and persons with disabilities so that they can live with dignity and choice in their homes and communities for as long as possible.

Sequoyah Fund
Website: https://sequoyahfund.org/
Phone: (828) 359-5005
Service Area: Serves the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians on the Qualla Boundary and throughout the seven westernmost counties of North Carolina.
Description: Provides loans (business, home repair, etc.), financial literacy, training programs, and more. The fund also provides youth programming with the Youth Entrepreneurship Camp and Kituwah Savings Program.

Supplemental Health Insurance Program (SHIP)
Website: https://phhs.ebci-nsn.gov/supplemental-health-insurance/
Phone: (828) 359-6194; (828) 359-6183
Service Area: Within the five-county service area
Eligibility & Description: Provides free guidance to EBCI elders and disabled members to make them aware of all alternative resources that are available to them.

Soco Creek Village Apartments
Phone: (828) 497-0066
Description: Offers a community of affordable apartment homes in Cherokee.

Syringe Services Program
Website: https://phhs.ebci-nsn.gov/syringe-service-program/
Phone: (828) 359-6879
Description: Provides comprehensive harm reduction services, such as providing participants with sterile syringes and clean injection equipment. Provides a safe, non-judgmental environment for anyone participating in the program, and develops meaningful relationships with participants in hopes of nurturing the need to recover.

Tribal Food Distribution
Website: https://phhs.ebci-nsn.gov/tribal-food-distribution-program/
Phone: (828) 359-9751
Eligibility & Description: Distributes nutritious foods to eligible households living within the four county areas of the Qualla Indian Boundary (lands in Jackson, Swain, Cherokee, and Graham counties) that fall within United States Department of Agriculture regulations.

Unity Healing Center
Website: https://www.ihs.gov/nashville/healthcarefacilities/unity/
Phone: (828) 554-0500
Description: Provides a long-term intensive residential treatment program for youth ages 13 to 17 years old.

W.I.C. Women/Infant/Children
Website: https://phhs.ebci-nsn.gov/wic-program/
Phone: (828) 359-6237
Description: Provides supplemental nutrition services for women, infants, and children.

Culture and Recreation

Co-op Qualla Arts and Crafts
Website:
https://quallaartsandcrafts.org/
Phone: (828) 497-3103
Description: Provides a year-round market for Cherokee handicrafts, to promote high standards of workmanship and design, to help craftspeople solve their problems, and to secure better prices for their craftwork.

One Feather
Website:
https://theonefeather.com/
Phone: (828) 359-6262
Description: Provides Eastern Band of Cherokee news, sports, and events.

Parks & Rec
Birdtown Gym Phone:
(828) 359-6890
Big Cove Gym Phone: (828) 497-7172
John Crowe Gym Phone: (828) 359-0149
Painttown Gym Phone: (828) 359-3345
Snowbird Gym Phone: (828) 346-6961
Wolfetown Gym Phone: (828) 359-4823
Big Y Gym Phone: (828) 497-9649

Qualla Library
Website:
https://ebci.com/services/departments/department-of-education/qualla-boundary-public-library/
Cherokee Phone: (828) 359-6725
Snowbird Phone: (828) 346-6971
Service Area: Serves enrolled members of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, residents of the Qualla Boundary, and the surrounding Swain and Jackson Counties.
Description: Provides excellent service and convenient access to resources to meet educational, informational, and recreational needs.

Youth Center
Website:
https://ebci.com/services/departments/department-of-education/cherokee-youth-center/
Cherokee Phone: (828) 359-8113
Snowbird Phone: (828) 346-6900
Description: Provides programming for all young people.

Education

Agelink—Cherokee Boys Club
Website:
https://www.cherokeeboysclub.com/agelink/
Phone: (828) 497-6726
Age Served: 6 months to 5 years
Description: Provides childcare and other early childhood programming primarily to parents and guardians who are employees on the Qualla Boundary, but any family may apply.

Cherokee Central School
Website:
https://www.ccs-nc.org/
Phone: (828) 554-5000
Age Served: Kindergarten to 12th grade

Education & Training
Website:
https://ebcihighered.com/
Phone: (828) 359-6650
Description: Assists those in the community to set high educational goals and achieve those goals.

Graham County Indian Education
Website:
https://cherokeepreservation.org/
Phone: (828) 479-9820
Description: Works as a liaison between the community, school, tribal programs, and the home to support children in their pursuit of goals.

Hope Center—Cherokee Pre-K
Website:
https://ces.ccs-nc.org/
Phone: (828) 554-5101
Age Served: 4 years of age by August 31st

Cooperative Extension
Website:
https://ebci.ces.ncsu.edu/
Phone: (828) 359-6930
Age Served: Offers extension courses in 4-H youth development, agriculture, community, food safety and processing, soil, water, air, and many more.

Kaleidoscope Dreams Daycare
Website:
https://www.facebook.com/kaleidoscope1999/
Phone: (828) 497-4946
Age Served: 6 weeks to 12 years
Description: Provides daycare and after-school care in Swain County.

New Kituwah Academy
Website:
https://ebcikpep.com/nka-elementary/
Phone: (828) 359-6101
Age Served: 0-5 (early childhood program)
Kindergarten-6th grade
Adult immersion
Description: Provides a nurturing learning environment in a language immersion setting where students, staff, families, and the community work in partnership to rekindle the language and to instill pride in being “Kituwah First.”

Occonaluftee Job Corps
Website:
https://oconaluftee.jobcorps.gov/
Phone: (828) 497-5411
Location: Cherokee, NC
Description: Provides education, training, and job placement for young people aged 16-24.

Qualla Boundary Head Start
Website:
https://phhs.ebci-nsn.gov/head-start-early-head-start/
Dora Reed Center Phone: (828) 359-6590
Big Cove Center Phone: (828) 359-3034
Age Served: 6 weeks to 5 years
Description: Provides early childhood education and support to parents.

Tribal Employment Rights Office (TERO)
Website:
https://ebci-tero.com/
Phone: (828) 359-6421
Description: Works with Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians citizens and local Indian applicants to encourage work with certified economic entities who do work on the EBCI tribal trust lands (Qualla Indian Boundary).

Legal and Court

Legal Assistance Office
Website:
https://ebci.com/services/departments/attorney-general/civil-law/
Phone: (828) 359-7400
Description: Expands access to justice for the Cherokee community through direct legal representation, community outreach, and advocacy.

Prosecutor’s Office
Website:
https://ebci.com/services/departments/attorney-general/criminal-law/
Phone: (828) 359-6207
Description: Prosecutes criminal, traffic, and juvenile cases in the Cherokee Court and prosecutes in federal court qualifying criminal cases occurring within the jurisdiction of the tribe.

Tribal Court
Website:
https://ebci.com/government/judicial/
Phone: (828) 359-1068
Description: Hears criminal, civil, domestic violence (civil and criminal), small claims, juvenile, traffic, family safety, child support, and drug court cases, with sessions nearly every day.

Cherokee Justice Center (Jail)
Website:
https://ebci.com/government/judicial/
Phone: (828) 359-6691

Medical and Dental

Children’s Dental
Website:
https://phhs.ebci-nsn.gov/childrens-dental/
Phone: (828) 359-6197
Description: Works with daycare centers and schools to provide information in an age-appropriate format and provides dental screenings in the daycare centers and schools on the Qualla Boundary.

Diabetes Program
Website:
https://cherokeehospital.org/
Phone: (828) 497-1991

Pediatrics—Cherokee Indian Hospital Authority (CIHA)
Website:
https://cherokeehospital.org/
Phone: (828) 497-9163
Description: Provides accessible, quality-focused, patient- and family-centered healthcare, while responsibly managing the tribe’s resources.

Women’s Wellness
Website:
https://phhs.ebci-nsn.gov/tsalagi-public-health/
Phone: (828) 359-6240
Description: Provides quality health, wellness, and disease prevention services to eligible women with emphasis on breast and cervical cancer screening and early detection.

Other Community Services

Animal Control
Phone: (828) 359-2380
Description: Provides animal control services and adoption program.

Emergency Preparedness
Website:
https://phhs.ebci-nsn.gov/preparedness/
Phone: (828) 359-1500
Description: Prepares for and responds to public health emergencies and threats.

Enrollment
Website:
https://ebci.com/enrollment/
Phone: (828) 359-6465
Description: Provides enrollment services and a Cherokee genealogy research service to search for records prior to the 1924 Baker Roll.

Recycling and Sanitation
Website:
https://ebci.com/services/departments/department-of-housing/infrastructure-and-public-facilities/
Phone: (828) 359-6143; (828) 359-6140
Description: Provides collection, handling, processing, and disposal of all solid waste generated on the Qualla Boundary. This includes household garbage, recycling, commercial waste, food waste, and bio solids from the tribal wastewater plant.

Transit
Website:
http://www.cherokeetransit.com/community.html
Cherokee Phone: (828) 359-6300
Snowbird Phone: (828) 346-6743
Description: Provides EBCI public transit services.

Emergency Numbers

Police Departments
Cherokee Police Phone: (828) 359-6600
Swain County Sheriff Phone: (828) 488-0159
Jackson County Sheriff: (828) 586-8901
Cherokee County Sheriff Phone: (828) 837-2589

Fire Departments
Website:
https://ebci.com/services/departments/department-of-operations/emergency-services/
Cherokee Fire Phone: (828) 359-6584
West Swain Fire (Bryson City) Phone: (828) 488-9134
Sylva Fire Phone: (828) 586-1020
Service Area: Qualla Boundary and the surrounding communities
Description: Provides emergency services.

EMS Department
Website:
https://ebci.com/services/departments/department-of-operations/emergency-services/
Cherokee Tribal EMS Phone: (828) 497-6405 or 911
Swain County EMS Phone: (828) 488-6021 or 911
Jackson County EMS: (828) 586-7000 or 911
Service Area: Qualla Boundary, the surrounding communities, and Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Description: Responds to and addresses all emergency and non-emergency calls. Provides pre-hospital instruction and community education.

Local Hospitals
Cherokee Indian Hospital:
https://cherokeehospital.org/
Phone: (828) 497-9163
Swain Community Hospital (Bryson City): https://www.myswaincommunity.com/
Phone: (828) 488-2155
Harris Regional Hospital (Sylva): https://myharrisregional.com/
Phone: (828) 586-7000

Please visit www.GKSNetwork.org for state and territory fact sheets and click here for the North Carolina GrandFacts state fact sheet.

Acknowledgements

Many thanks to Lisa Young, Nicolas Squirrell, and Meghan Arnold from Eastern Band of Cherokee for their partnership in the creation of this fact sheet.

The Grandfamilies & Kinship Support Network: A National Technical Assistance Center (Network) helps government agencies and nonprofits in states, tribes, and territories work across jurisdictional and systemic boundaries to improve supports and services for families in which grandparents, other relatives, or close family friends are raising children whose parents are unable to do so. For more information, please visit www.GKSNetwork.org.

This website was supported with funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families’ Children’s Bureau through the Improving Child Welfare Through Investing in Family grant #HHS-2021-ACF-ACYF-CW-1921. The purpose of this grant is to provide an array of kinship preparation services and ongoing kinship supports, and provide shared parenting to build trusting relationships between all out-of-home caregivers and parents of children/youth in foster care to ensure parents and families remain actively involved in normal child-rearing activities.