Substance Abuse and Suicide Prevention Program: Substance Use Prevention, Treatment, and Aftercare - In response to RFA IHS HHS-2022-IHS-SAPTA-0001, Indian Health Council, Inc. (IHC) proposes to improve substance abuse prevention, treatment and aftercare through coordinated efforts with the surrounding Tribal communities that it serves, including conversations and ultimately MOUs with each of the nine Tribes in IHC’s consortium. A distinct focus of this engagement consists of asking their Tribal and General Councils the exact ways in which they would like IHC’s Behavioral Health team to prevent and to respond to opioid overdoses and other substance use in each of their communities. We will also work with these sovereign governments to establish local health system policies and protocols to increase access and referrals to substance abuse prevention and intervention services in schools, courts, corrections/detention systems, and law enforcement agencies. As outlined by the RFA, we also will educate and train community members to recognize the signs of substance abuse and to increase community awareness of local behavioral health services. Building upon our establishment of mobile units in a just-concluding County-funded project (Roaming Outpatient Access Mobile, or ROAM), we intend to continue to operate rural outreach mobile substance use treatment and prevention services to Tribal youth and adults. With additional training to providers, we will boost our clinic’s evidence-based substance abuse care for clients at risk for substance abuse disorders, with culturally appropriate treatment services and resources. In line with IHC’s Patient-Centered Home goal, we will continue to implement a trauma-informed approach in our substance abuse treatment and prevention services. A particular emphasis of this grant is to build resiliency, resistance, hardiness, empathy, promote positive development, and increase self-sufficiency behaviors among Native youth in the community. We will establish new Native youth peer-to-peer support and education programs, as well as a Tribal Youth Council to provide guidance/feedback on community substance abuse prevention planning and strategic planning. We understand that a key goal of the grant is to develop a strategic plan to address long-term substance abuse prevention, treatment, and aftercare needs of the community, ensuring the sustainability of the project activities beyond the grant life-cycle. In sum, with this application, Indian Health Council, Inc. (IHC) is responding creatively to the challenge issued by IHS to build better community-based systems that will reduce the impact of alcohol and other drugs on American Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/AN). To overcome access barriers, IHC proposes to increase utilization of culturally competent substance use treatment and prevention services in Native American rural populations, through the use of a mobile behavioral health clinic, cultural brokers and incorporating complimentary traditional Native American healing practices in treatment and services. It will boost provider training, increase outreach, and incentivize treatment engagement.
