Prior Lake, Minnesota - The Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community announced today that it has awarded a $25,000 donation to Comunidades Latinas Unidas En Servicio of St. Paul, Minnesota, for their capital campaign. CLUES, established in 1981, provides behavioral health and human services to the Latino community in the Twin Cities.

CLUES has become Minnesota's premiere provider of linguistically appropriate and cultural proficient behavioral health and human services for Latino children, families, and individuals. Their mission is to "enhance the quality of life of the Latino community in Minnesota." Services they provide include mental health, chemical health, elder wellness, employment, and education. They also offer services in Minneapolis.

According to CLUES, there are over 200,000 Latinos living in Minnesota. Their needs include better jobs, higher levels of education, family services, and improved access to healthcare.

CLUES' headquarters are located in a 20,123 square foot building at 797 East 7th Street. The CLUES building also contains tenant space, home to a culturally appropriate health clinic called Salud Integral and a new Consulate of the government of Mexico. The total cost for the entire capital campaign project is $6.2 million.

In 2006 CLUES performed 1,579 chemical health assessments, provided services for 237 Latino elders, and helped 3,489 clients overcome barriers become better prepared for obtaining and maintaining employment. Their 366 volunteer tutors provided 5,891 hours of instruction to 1,715 register adult learners. In 2006 CLUES celebrated its 25th anniversary of service to Minnesota's Latino community.

"We would like to express our sincerest appreciation to the Community for its most generous gift. Your support is allowing us to grow with the needs and numbers of the Latino community. Your gift is truly making a difference," wrote Kathleen Westerhaus, CLUES Director of Strategic Development and Marketing.

"We are happy to be able to help this organization with their capital campaign. The work they do is important and helps a lot of people," said SMSC Tribal Administrator Bill Rudnicki.

In recent years the SMSC has also supported St. Mary's Clinic in Shakopee and Centro Legal, Inc. of St. Paul which both serve primarily Hispanic clients.

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