C.A.N.A. is a non-profit organization dedicated to bringing comfort and assistance to Native Americans who travel to Denver for medical treatment from Western US Indian reservations. We have been in existence since 1988.

Denver is one of the nation's major medical treatment centers for Native Americans. Native peoples with chronic illnesses and life-threatening conditions and injuries are sent to Denver for medical care. Often they know no one in Denver. In many cases, a number of family members travel to Denver with them. Most of these persons do not qualify for traditional social service assistance programs. C.A.N.A. steps into this gap to help. We are dedicated to meeting the unmet needs of these patients and their families.

C.A.N.A.'s Programs

C.A.N.A. volunteers visit patients in local hospitals, nursing facilities, hospices and homes. We provide for patient needs, and increasingly, provide emergency food, shelter and clothing for the accompanying family members. We work together with hospital social workers and chaplains. Many C.A.N.A. volunteers are from the metro-area Indian community. We also provide in-service training for volunteers and hospital staff. C.A.N.A.'s continuing education program seeks to bridge the gap between the Indian and non-Indian communities.

As we have successfully served the needs of this population, more and more local agencies have begun to refer clients to C.A.N.A. We want to do more, but are severly constrained by a lack of funds. We can feed and house our clients very inexpensively, but we can only do so much with what we have.