Friday, April 19, 2024
4/19/2024
WestCare Pacific Islands’ (WPI) proposed “Ma’lak na Ha’åni” (CHamoru for Bright Futures) program will provide culturally responsive treatment for trauma-related mental health issues for male and female youth ages 11-17 living on the U.S. territory of Guam, specifically focusing on the island’s CHamoru, Filipino, Asian, and other Pacific Island subpopulations. The current availability of mental health treatment on Guam comes nowhere near to meeting the need for services. According to the 2019 Youth Risk Behavior Survey for all high school youth in Guam’s public school system, 46.9% of respondents reported feeling prolonged sadness and hopelessness; 11.3% reported experiencing sexual violence; and 11.1% reported feeling unsafe at or on their way to and from school. More alarming are the respondents’ reports on suicide with 23.8% having seriously considered attempting suicide; 24.4% made a plan about how they would attempt suicide; 16.5% had attempted suicide; and 3.7% made a suicide attempt that resulted in the need for medical intervention. These statistics illustrate a dire need to address the effects of traumatic stress for Guam’s youth. WestCare Pacific Islands (WPI), in collaboration with cross-sector community partners, proposes to step into this unmet need and provide critical, culturally relevant mental health support and treatment services for children and families impacted by trauma. WPI proposes to provide evidence-based, developmentally appropriate, trauma-informed mental health services and coordinated linkages to other needed supported services in the community. The project will also deliver a series of community events and trainings to increase awareness and understanding of trauma-related mental health issues among parents, community members, youth-serving agencies, and others who interact with children, deepening and expanding community relationships to better serve the children and families of Guam. WPI’s Ma’lak na Ha’åni program proposes to serve 75 unduplicated participants per year for a total of 375 unduplicated participants served over the five-year grant term. The program’s proposed goals, each with measurable objectives, are to 1) Increase the screening, diagnosis, treatment and referral of mental health issues for male and female youth ages 11-17 years and their families on the pacific island of Guam in order to improve the well-being of youth who have experienced trauma; and 2) Increase the awareness and capacity on the pacific island of Guam to provide trauma-informed mental health clinical services to male and female youth ages 11-17 years, parents/guardians, and community members to better detect and respond to mental health issues. In pursuing these goals, WPI will apply evidence-based practices including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT), Seeking Safety, and Motivational Interviewing (MI).
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).
