VIDEO – REHABS OR GOLD RUSH –

March 13, 2024 – I’m an only child, he only had me and I only had him,” Carletta Leslie said.

Carletta’s father, Carson, died back in September 2022 after he went missing from Flagstaff. Police later called, informing her Carson’s body was found outside an unlicensed group home near 91st Avenue and Indian School Road. While in the vehicle, he fell asleep. The medical examiner determined he choked to death on his own vomit. His blood alcohol at the time was nearly seven times the legal limit.

“I was robbed of a great father because of alcohol, but my father was robbed of being a great grandfather due to the situation that happened,” Carletta said.

So why Native Americans? Under the American Indian Health Program, the state is known to pay a lot for substance abuse treatment with little oversight. State leaders promised to stop it in May, but advocates and the attorneys behind the lawsuits said it continues.

“We could go north, south, east, west, 10 miles in any direction and I can find you huge amounts of this sober living crisis going on,” John Brewer, a partner with BrewerWood, said. He filed the lawsuit.

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