Wednesday, April 2, 2025
4/2/2025
Tanana Chiefs Conference Native Connections Project - NATIVE CONNECTIONS PROJECT ABSTRACT Project Summary: The Tanana Chiefs Conference Native Connections Project builds the capacity of the five hub communities across much of TCC's Region - Galena, Nenana, Fort Yukon, Tok, and Huslia located in the Interior region of Alaska, to prevent suicide and substance use and promote mental health among youth and young adults ages 10-24 through extensive outreach, engagement, community involvement, and training in evidence-based strategies. Project activities will be based on comprehensive assessment and asset mapping processes in each community. Population to be Served: The Tanana Chiefs Conference Native Connections Project serves individuals ages 10-24 in TCC's most populated communities of Galena, Nenana, Fort Yukon, Tok, and Huslia. An estimated 512 individuals aged 10-24 reside in the five communities of the region which range in size from just 300 individuals in the smallest community of Huslia to 1,315 in the largest community of Tok. Rates of historical trauma and substance use among the Alaska Native population are high. The five-year (2019-2023) average prevalence rate for suicide for TCC beneficiaries in the named sub-regions was up to twice that of the State of Alaska. In individual communities, the rate was as much as 10 times that of the State of Alaska. (The 2021 State of Alaska suicide prevalence rate was 30.8 per 100,000, already more than double the national rate of 14.0 per 100,000.) The median age of these individuals was 17, highlighting the need for coordinated systems and protocols for youth transitioning into adulthood. Of these 125 individuals, only 89 were admitted for treatment. Villages are extremely isolated and small, with limited educational and economic opportunities. Strategies/Interventions: Evidence-based strategies and interventions adaptable to the cultural needs of the Alaska Native population will be selected based on community assessment and resource/asset mapping processes conducted during Year 1 of the project. Based on action plans developed, a Train-the-Trainers model will be used to train leaders in each community in evidence-based strategies, building community capacity to prevent substance use and suicide and promote mental health. Project staff will work with tribal leaders and Community Prevention Response Teams in each community to develop and implement policies and procedures to promote coordination among youth-serving agencies, ensure youth at risk for suicide receive follow-up and treatment, and provide communities with suicide postvention protocols. Project Goals and Measurable Objectives: The project goal is to increase the local infrastructure and capacity of the five communities of TCC's most populated communities across most of the TCC region to build resilience to the impacts of trauma, to promote mental health, to decrease substance use, and to reduce suicidal behavior among youth and young adults ages 10-24. Measurable objectives to support this goal are to complete a community assessment, community resource/asset map, and strategic action plan for each community that addresses suicide, impacts of trauma, substance use, and mental health among youth and young adults; 2) train at least five people in each community in culturally relevant Evidence-Based Practices shown to reduce suicidal behavior, promote mental health, and build resilience; across the 5 communities, with youth, and adults hosting Talking Circles as facilitators; 3) implement suicide postvention policies and procedures in each community and 4) establish policies, procedures and protocols in at least two communities that ensure coordination and integration of services and supports for youth and young adults at risk for suicide. The project will serve an estimated 512 individuals ages 10-24 annually, and a total of 512 individuals repeatedly over the entire five-year project period.
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