Sunday, April 28, 2024
4/28/2024
Compared to all other racial and ethnic groups in the U.S., Alaska Natives and Native Americans have the highest rates of suicide in the nation. As demonstrated by the Suicide Prevention Resource Center in 2020 and Center for American Indian Health in 2021, among others, locally informed and culturally based approaches that leverage strengths within Alaska Native and or Native American communities can significantly protect youth against suicide. The Rural Alaska Community Action Program, Inc., (RurAL CAP) Peer Mentor and Mental Health First Aide in Rural Alaska Project will build community capacity to support mental health and workforce development initiatives for young people, encouraging skill development to create a pipeline to needed community roles such as Behavioral Health Aids, Village Police Officers, school staff, and Tribal Government leaders. The project will support a cohort of approximately 10 Youth Peer Mentors and up to five Adult Mentors from up to seven rural Alaska communities to complete culturally responsive suicide prevention and mental health training. These trainings benefit each Mentor’s ability to create and facilitate safe places for difficult conversations with peers in their respective communities and refer community members to certified, professional health care providers if and as needed. The project pairs each Youth Peer Mentor with an Adult Mentor to ensure that youth have necessary support and processing mechanisms needed to be safe and supported. An estimated 100 people in rural Alaska will receive direct support from Mentors during this one-year project. The project goals are to 1) increase the capacity of the local community to reduce high-risk behaviors of youth that may contribute to self-harm and/or suicide and 2) decrease instances of youth self-harm and/or suicide by implementing a locally informed and peer-based program that addresses behaviors that may lead to harmful actions. Objectives to reach these goals include, but are not limited to, the following: develop formal agreements about capacity building with up to seven rural communities; train up to 10 rural youth and five rural adults on suicide prevention and mental health frameworks; Peer Mentors host up to 20 events to promote mental health awareness in their communities; Youth Peer Mentors successfully connect up to 100 peers in total across their communities to supportive mental health resources and/or methods. The Peer Mentor and Mental Health First Aide in Rural Alaska Project will benefit rural Alaska communities’ ability to create and sustain a healthy youth culture that will contribute to the reduction of self-harm and suicide rates. The project will go further by generating paths for youth and adults to advance from schooling into vital, high-demand workforce positions within their communities, contributing to social, mental, and emotional health as well as community-wide economic development across rural communities.
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).
