A Johns Hopkins Center for Indigenous Health program serving Navajo Nation youth in Arizona is at risk of cancellation after the Trump administration cut $1.1 million in funding, leaving organizers scrambling to secure private donations. “It feels so demoralizing when you’ve built a program over a three-year period, and then it’s gone in a day. Gone in a day, that’s ridiculous,” said Allison Barlow, the executive director of the JHU Center for Indigenous Health.The funding termination notice was issued on June 26, with the center informed that no federal funds could be used after that date. “Camp next week with hundreds of kids enrolled, so we’re just piecing together funding right now,” Barlow said.The program, Hozho Horizons, combines sports camps with reproductive health education and holistic health workshops, enrolling more than 300 children annually. The cuts are part of a broader $67 million reduction affecting 53 teen pregnancy prevention programs nationwide. “In the termination notices, we were alerted that the federal government no longer prioritized programs that were normalizing sex for minors. They viewed it as promoting or encouraging sex,” Barlow said. A July 2025 announcement from the U.S. Office of the Assistant Secretary of Health stated:”Federal funds may not be used to indoctrinate America’s children with radical ideologies or other inappropriate material. The notice safeguards the rights of parents to protect their children from content that undermines their religious beliefs.”Barlow said the description does not reflect their initiative. “It involves youth, summer camps, where youth go and play basketball, lacrosse, and then they do breakout sessions, where they learn about reproductive health and holistic health in general.”The program also includes family workshops that foster communication between parents and teens. Without additional private funding, the program faces cancellation, and several employees could lose their jobs. “My fear with programs like this being cut is that you now go to untrusted sources, the Internet, social media, to get information that helps them stay safe, helps them stay well, helps them stay on track,” Barlow said. A donor stepped in to save next week’s camp, but the program’s future remains uncertain. Barlow expressed frustration with the federal government’s repeated failures to support Indigenous communities. “Not to be able to get this information, this education that empowers them, is a real crime,” Barlow said.
A Johns Hopkins Center for Indigenous Health program serving Navajo Nation youth in Arizona is at risk of cancellation after the Trump administration cut $1.1 million in funding, leaving organizers scrambling to secure private donations.
“It feels so demoralizing when you’ve built a program over a three-year period, and then it’s gone in a day. Gone in a day, that’s ridiculous,” said Allison Barlow, the executive director of the JHU Center for Indigenous Health.
The funding termination notice was issued on June 26, with the center informed that no federal funds could be used after that date.
“Camp next week with hundreds of kids enrolled, so we’re just piecing together funding right now,” Barlow said.
The program, Hozho Horizons, combines sports camps with reproductive health education and holistic health workshops, enrolling more than 300 children annually. The cuts are part of a broader $67 million reduction affecting 53 teen pregnancy prevention programs nationwide.
“In the termination notices, we were alerted that the federal government no longer prioritized programs that were normalizing sex for minors. They viewed it as promoting or encouraging sex,” Barlow said.
A July 2025 announcement from the U.S. Office of the Assistant Secretary of Health stated:
“Federal funds may not be used to indoctrinate America’s children with radical ideologies or other inappropriate material. The notice safeguards the rights of parents to protect their children from content that undermines their religious beliefs.”
Barlow said the description does not reflect their initiative.
“It involves youth, summer camps, where youth go and play basketball, lacrosse, and then they do breakout sessions, where they learn about reproductive health and holistic health in general.”
The program also includes family workshops that foster communication between parents and teens. Without additional private funding, the program faces cancellation, and several employees could lose their jobs.
“My fear with programs like this being cut is that you now go to untrusted sources, the Internet, social media, to get information that helps them stay safe, helps them stay well, helps them stay on track,” Barlow said.
A donor stepped in to save next week’s camp, but the program’s future remains uncertain. Barlow expressed frustration with the federal government’s repeated failures to support Indigenous communities.
“Not to be able to get this information, this education that empowers them, is a real crime,” Barlow said.