Thursday, November 21, 2024
11/21/2024
Utilizing traditional cultural teachings, the Akiachak Native Connections Program will aim to assist our youth in overcoming the effects of generations of colonization which has taken hold of our people and enslaved them in high rates of substance use, depression, and despair which has led to high rates of suicide in our community over the past generation. Most, if not all, of our youth have experienced the loss of a close friend or relative to suicide, and a high number of our youth experience depression and suicide ideation themselves. Combined with substance use this is a lethal combination. Through this program we will serve 400 or more unduplicated youth up to age 24, with an average of 75 to 100 youth served per year, providing a combination of behavioral health services along with an array of year-round activities to engage our youth. Our community, Akiachak, population 573, is located on the banks of the Kuskokwim River in the Yukon Kuskokwim (YK) Delta in Southwest Alaska, and is made up almost entirely of Alaska Native residents at 96%. We will utilize Calricaraq, a wellness curriculum based on the traditional values and ways of the Indigenous people in the YK Delta, for our counseling and the building of coping skills for our Youth. Calricaraq incorporates ancestral traditional values, practices and teachings into prevention and treatment programs to help our Indigenous people heal from behavioral health disorders. Our Native Connections Program staff will focus on providing outreach to the community to build their knowledge of identifying youth at risk for suicide, establish protocols for responding to suicides and build up a crisis response team in our community so we have the ability to respond to behavioral health crises. Key activities of our program will include regular school presentations, the Calricaraq Gathering, a three day event that teaches participants how to get on the healthy road of life, the Calricaraq Facilitator Trainings, also three days in length, that teaches participants how to begin facilitating Calricaraq activities to help our young people, and their parents, get on the road to wellness and recovery. Program goals and objectives include the 1) review and update of our policies and procedures related to preventing and responding to youth at risk for suicide, 2) implementation of mental health awareness and substance misuse prevention trainings utilizing Calricaraq, 3) planning and facilitating a series of youth activities, such as fishing and camping trips, Native arts and crafts, and movie nights to provide healthy options for our youth, and 4) facilitate Calricaraq Gatherings and Facilitator Trainings for community members. Measurement of goals will be from surveys, key informant interviews, and the number of participants at activities.
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