The Pueblo of Nambe’s Suicide and Substance Abuse Prevention Project is a proposed project designed to 1) create a resilient community in Nambe O-Ween-Ge through prevention techniques and 2) reduce the impact of mental health issues, suicide, and substance abuse through comprehensive experiential intervention techniques, clinical efforts and effective crises response. The project will fund application of therapeutic experiential education approaches, facilitation of youth engagement techniques, and development of a robust network of clinical and support resource. Nambe O-Ween-Ge, known as the Pueblo of Nambe, is a small American Indian tribe of less than 1,000 members and is located in northern New Mexico. Surrounded by native and non-native communities in a rural part of the state, Nambe residents, are at high risk for mental health challenges, substance use and abuse, and suicide. New Mexico is one of the states with the highest substance abuse and suicide rates in the nation and the impact to its American Indian communities is disproportionately high, requiring complex and comprehensive mitigation and prevention approaches. In addition, the youth are at great risk of suicide and substance abuse, requiring youth engagement in these approaches.
If funded, this project will be managed by Nambe Pueblo’s Tewa Roots Society, a collective of behavioral health and wellness program coordinators providing services in areas including domestic violence, substance abuse, suicide prevention, health and wellness, juvenile justice, and child welfare. To meet the immanent needs of the community, if funded, the programs strives to serve the entire community (500-1000 people for the duration of the project), American Indians in our service area, those at high risk of suicide and substance abuse, those with mental health needs, and those who have shown signs of or already attempted suicide or are already abusing substances. To meet these objectives, the programs goals include 1) Identify high-risk areas in Nambe and target programming to meet the needs of those areas. 2) Increase the engagement of tribal members and their families in the support and wellbeing of the tribe and its individuals. 3) Increase services offered by Nambe to combat substance abuse and mental health challenges. 4) Establish a crisis response protocol to effectively respond to various crises, as well as build resilience though supporting the wellbeing of the community during times of crisis. These goals will be met through actions including direct clinical services, outreach and promotion, and crisis intervention; application of a therapeutic experiential education approach; development of crisis response protocols; and development of a robust treatment network outside of what the program can offer.