Wednesday, February 5, 2025
2/5/2025
The Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians (MBCI) has an estimated population of 11,000 enrolled tribal members. However, MBCI also serves Native people not enrolled in the tribe, but are still eligible to receive education and healthcare services. For this reason, funding is needed to ensure that service can be extended to meet the needs of all Native people residing in the MBCI tribal areas. Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, MBCI has experienced an increase in substance use disorders (SUDs) and suicides. Choctaw Behavioral Health (CBH), a department and service of Choctaw Health Center (CHC) has made great strides over the last several years in identifying and addressing substance use, addiction, and suicide ideation with past efforts through the previous SASP (formerly named MSPI) grant projects. However, with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, needs regarding substance use and mental health issues such as depression, anxiety,and suicides have increased tremendously. This in turn has impacted every population within MBCI (e.g. elders, children, adolescents/youth, and adults). COVID-19 has also heavily impacted tribal programs such as Choctaw Health Center and Choctaw Tribal Schools. Since the tribe is small compared to other tribes in the nation, every incident of drug-related events and suicides are known quickly throughout the tribal communities, affecting everyone, including tribal programs that have also experienced losses due to suicide and other forms of death within employment staff. For these reasons, CBH is applying for funds from the Indian Health Service (IHS), an agency that is part of the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), to address substance use/addition and suicide impacting the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians. Throughout the course of the pandemic, MBCI has seen losses due to suicide at a record number, far more than any in history. The trend n "drug-of-choice" has also changed over the course of the pandemic, with methamphetamine being the latest problematic drug the tribe is experiencing; and this drug is also linked to many of the suicides within the last year. Over the last six (6) years, CBH has been the recipient of the SASP (formerly named MSPI) grant. The focus of the program was on Purpose Area 2 which concentrated on suicide prevention, intervention, postvention, and suicide contagion among AI/AN populations. The following goals and objectives were achieved: Goals & Objectives: Identify and address suicide ideations, attempts, and contagions among American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) populations through the development and implementation of culturally appropriate and community-relevant prevention, intervention, and postvention strategies. - Expand available behavioral health care treatment services to area tribal community health clinics. - Improve health system organizational practice by providing evidence-based suicide care. - Implement and update local health system policies for suicide prevention, intervention, and postvention. - Integrate culturally appropriate treatment services. - Implement trauma-informed care services and programs. Goals & Objectives: Increase provide and community education on suicide by offering appropriate services. - Foster coalitions and networks to improve care coordination - Educate and train mental health and healthcare providers in the care of suicide screening and evidence-based suicide care. - Promote community education to recognize he signs of suicide and prevent and intervene in suicides and suicide ideations. Goals & Objectives: Develop a local health system policy for suicide prevention, intervention, and postvention of suicide ideation, attempts, or completion among AI/AN populations. - Establish local health system policies for suicide prevention, intervention, and postvention. - Transition local health care system to an integrative system of care known as the Zero Suicide Initiative.
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).