Tuesday, April 23, 2024
4/23/2024
The Lummi Advancing Wellness and Resiliency in Education project is designed to decrease mental health issues and increase wellness and resiliency for Lummi and other-tribal school-age youth. The project will help increase awareness of mental health issues faced by youth, provide education to adults interacting with youth to better detect and respond to mental health issues, and connect school-age youth to mental health services. The population of focus includes Lummi school-age youth and non-Lummi other-tribal youth attending the three LEAs: Lummi Nation School (LNS), Ferndale School District (FSD), and Bellingham School District (BSD). The goals of the project are 1) connect youth, families, schools, and community to increase engagement and involvement in the promotion of wellness of school-age youth and their families; 2) conduct outreach and engagement with school staff, caregivers, and community to increase awareness and identification of mental health issues and promote wellness; 3) increase the capacity of the three LEAs to identify school-age youth with potential mental health needs through standardized and culturally appropriate screening measures; 4) develop a school-based mental health referral process; 5) provide access to traditional and spiritual healing practices for school-age youth and their families to promote wellness and resiliency; and 6) increase capacity to provide immediate school-based and community-based mental health services to school-age youth and their families. Four community based steering committees (youth, caregiver, school staff, and elders) will be formed, and will provide guidance for every aspect of the project. The project proposes to utilize several empirically based practices to achieve these goals including Youth Mental Health First Aid, Family-based Prevention and Mentoring, Canoe Journey, and Multisystemic Therapy (MST). Additionally, steering committees will identify, and project staff will administer, school-based mental health wellness education and training programs that meet the needs of the community. Lummi Behavioral Health (BH) will partner with and coordinate services between the three LEAs. Services will include continued outpatient mental health services provided by Lummi BH clinicians, on-site staff to provide immediate services, community mentors, case management, cultural and spiritual healing practices, youth prevention activities, and intensive wrap-around family therapy. It is anticipated that at least 10% (100 per year, 500 total) of the project population school-age youth will complete mental health screening measures each year of the grant, and youth requiring additional project services including mental health intervention will be immediately referred. It is anticipated that, during the entire course of the project, at least 100 (10 first year, approx. 22 years 2-5) youth will receive community mentorship, 100 (10 first year, approx. 22 years 2-5) youth and families will receive case management services, and 40 (10 per year, years 2-5) youth will receive intensive wrap-around family therapy (MST). Program progress will be continually monitored and modified as needed to improve services to youth and families.
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).
