Friday, April 4, 2025
4/4/2025
Strength Building with Cultural Connections - Abstract: Mescalero Apache Prevention Program SASP SPIP The Mescalero Prevention Program has a well-documented history (1998-Current) of providing substance abuse and suicide prevention services to the Mescalero Apache Tribe. We propose to continue to work to prevent suicide (789.06 / 100,000 rate of suicide 2004-2013 among our 10–24-year-old population) by using evidence programs including Natural Helpers in the schools ad Zero Suicide community wide. We will also implement community wide education on QPR (Questions, Persuade, Refer) and Mental Health First Aid. Our need for funding to address suicide includes the need to develop capacity and infrastructure. Community Readiness Assessments and Capacity Scans indicate an ongoing lack of basic infrastructure such as limited outpatient behavioral health treatment regionally for adults and adolescents, no in-patient treatment for adolescents, no Mescalero licensed psychologist or psychiatrist, WIFI, software and hardware for internet and virtual access and use, no adolescent corrections / jail facility, siloing and territoriality between departments and agencies that leads to limited services or duplication of services, and many other needs. A data system and method to coordinate and share information about at-risk individuals and their families is non-existent. We propose the following goal and objectives to eradicate suicide on the reservation. Goal: Improve community wellness, including physical, social, emotional, and mental health by reducing depression, suicidal ideation, suicide attempts, and suicides. Objective 1: Decrease suicides on the reservation from baseline to zero by implementing the Zero Suicide Model beginning April 2022. Objective 2: Increase resiliency in the Mescalero on-reservation community members by 5% through the implementation of a calendar of traditional workshops and educational sessions that follows the Apache traditional calendar by April 2023. Objective 3: Decrease chronic depression among people on the reservation by 10% through counseling, outpatient treatment, and implementation of the Natural Helpers program at the Mescalero School beginning April 2022 and assessed by April 2023. We have three community-wide coalitions that are working together on suicide prevention at this time: The Mescalero Service Provider’s Coalition; the Mescalero Suicide Prevention Coalition; and the Mescalero Youth Coalition. These coalitions will 1) review all data; 2) help collect data; 3)develop a strategic plan; 4)implement evidence-based programs; 5)recruit participants; 6)identify at-risk individuals and their families; 7)help to evaluate all efforts to stop suicide. An Adolescent and an Adult Counselor will be hired to provide treatment and postvention services to at-risk individuals and their families. We will use our outside Evaluator, Ann Del Vecchio, Ph.D. dba Alpha Assessment Associates, LLC to work with the MPP Team and partners to design appropriate measures and methods to evaluate the process and outcomes for the SASP-SPIP. The MPP Team is knowledgeable and skilled at collecting and using data for needs assessment, planning, implementation, and evaluation. We will work with designated partners such as Albuquerque Area Southwest Tribal Epi Center, the Mescalero Fire and Rescue and Mescalero Courts and Police, as well as with Mescalero IHS, to collect annual and every other year surveys (Youth Risk and Resiliency Survey and the New Mexico Community Survey NMCS) and we will collect CRA Community Readiness Assessments per our usual timeline. Data will be shared with the key stakeholders and the community as appropriate and approved by Tribal Council.
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