Connecting With Our Youth Extension - Connecting With Our Youth suicide prevention, intervention, and postvention program serves the He Sapa area (Rapid City, South Dakota). Our population of focus is American Indian (AI) youth, families, and adults who are at risk for suicide and reside in the Rapid City area. According to the U.S. Census Decennial data 2020, Rapid City, South Dakota, currently has a population of 74,703, with 12,854 being self-identified as American Indian or Alaska Native (AI/AN). That is over 26% of the city's population. As of January 2022, the Oyate Health Center, a tribally managed walk-in clinic in Rapid City, has over 22,200 active users, with 5,657 under 18. The funding associated with this grant application would fund activities that supplement and increase the capacity of the Connecting With Our Youth (CWOY) program. With the Substance Abuse and Suicide Prevention (SASP) Program: Suicide Prevention, Intervention, and Postvention (SPIP) grant, CWOY would add two additional Support Navigator positions to the current four. These additional positions would increase the number of American Indian youth that can be served in the program and extend our direct service to American Indian adults and family members aged 25 and over. The Indian Health Service SASP SPIP grant would also fund a Licensed Clinical Social Worker dedicated to providing behavioral health treatment to youth and families. Furthermore, the funding from IHS SASP SPIP would train the Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Oyate Health Center (OHC) Behavioral Health providers to provide three evidence-based therapies that are not currently offered at OHC. Lastly, IHS SASP SPIP would ensure that the Connecting With Our Youth program would exist for the next five years while building long-term program sustainability strategies. With the IHS SASP SPIP award, we aim to meet four goals already aligned with our current project activities. Goal one is to foster coalitions and networks to improve care coordination. The project will educate providers on model practices for suicide screening, safety planning, and trauma-informed care. The project will also educate and train community members to recognize and respond to the warning signs of suicide and prevent and intervene in suicides and suicide ideations. Furthermore, we want to increase community awareness of local behavioral health resources. Goal two is to expand available behavioral health care treatment services. The project aims to provide evidence-based suicide care for participants that exhibit suicidal risk access to culturally appropriate treatment, services, and resources. The project will also implement trauma-informed care treatment and services. Goal three is to improve the referral process. The project will provide support services to American Indian youth and their families impacted by suicide, promote positive development, and increase the self-sufficiency of AI youth by providing culturally appropriate suicide prevention activities using traditional practices. Goal four is to develop a formal plan/process to ensure the sustainability of the project activities beyond the grant life cycle. The project will lead the development of a community-based strategic plan to address the community's long-term suicide prevention, intervention, and postvention needs.
