Friday, May 9, 2025
5/9/2025
Culture is Prevention: Building Resiliency in Urban American Indian Youth - Project Abstract The purpose of the Culture as Prevention: Building Resiliency in Urban American Indian Youth project is to reduce stigma related to suicide and increase the resiliency and positive development of urban American Indian youth ages 11-18 years old through evidence-based programs and practices for decreased suicides. The geographic area proposed for this project is metropolitan Phoenix located in Arizona. With 22 sovereign American Indian (AI) communities and 15 counties, the State of Arizona has over 4 times the proportion of American Indians than the nation, with 5.3% compared to the national 1.3% (U.S. Census, 2021). This includes Maricopa County which has over 4.4 million people and is reported as the fourth most populous county in the United States (U.S. Census, 2020). It is estimated there are 154,088 individuals who reside within Maricopa County and identify as AI/AN (U.S. Census, 2020). The Phoenix Indian Center is committed to enriching the lives of American Indian individuals in Maricopa County. The oldest and the first American Indian non-profit organization in the United States, PIC provides culturally relevant services to urban American Indians in areas of job readiness/employment, prevention, youth services, cultural revitalization, and community engagement. In Phoenix there are several current suicide prevention programs, however, there remains an unmet need to focus on the AI youth population. In bringing together PIC with various community agencies that serve AI youth, the Phoenix Indian Center provides and increases targeted collaborative services for AI youth and families that includes an extensive range of specialists along with informal adults, healers, and peers that can help develop the concept of who can help youth in crisis. The goals and objectives for this project are: Goal 1: Increase resiliency in urban American Indian youth and families Objective 1: By the end of each calendar year, 30 urban American Indian middle-school youth in the Phoenix area will increase by 3% their use of the R.E.A.L drug resistance strategies to resist drugs taught in the evidence-informed Living in 2 Worlds as measured by baseline pre-survey data and post-sur vey data for each of the five years. Objective 2: By the end of each calendar year, 60 participants, including youth, will take part in the Gathering of Native Americans and 75% will show an increase in knowledge in the impacts of historical trauma and ways to foster resiliency. Objective 3: By the end of each calendar year, 90 American Indian high school youth in the Phoenix area will report increased positive development through participation in culturally appropriate workshops, such as storytelling, ribbon skirt making and drumming, as measured by participant counts, satisfaction surveys and a retrospective survey for each of the five years. Goal 2: Reduce stigma related to suicide in the urban American Indian community Objective 1: For each calendar year, provide one training of the evidence-based Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST), four Questions, Persuade and Refer (QPR) trainings and two safeTALK programs to 85 behavioral health staff, service providers and community members, including youth over age 16, in Maricopa County as measured by participation counts and satisfaction surveys. Objective 2: For each calendar year, increase communication across service-provider agencies through the continuation of the suicide convening of youth, parents and health professionals as measured by satisfaction forms and participation counts. Objective 3: For each calendar year, host the Network Support Talking Circle quarterly for increased collaboration, resource sharing, and referrals between service providers as measured by participation counts and retrospective surveys.
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).