Hooper Bay Native Connections - Project Name: Hooper Bay Native Connections
Population To Be Served
The Native Village of Hooper Bay, an indigenous Yup'ik community in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta in Southwestern Alaska, is a remote coastal community on the Bering Sea, population 1,375 people. Our location is closer to Russia’s coast (277 miles) than Anchorage, Alaska (533 miles). Our remoteness is a barrier and blessing because it protects us from many outside interests and allows us to keep many traditions intact. Most of the population is Yup’ik, 83%, 8% White, and 7% Hispanic. 43% of the community, 591 people, is under 24 years, and 17.6% are between ages 10 and 24. Females make up 54% of the population, and males, 46%. 55% of households speak English, 36% speak their native language, Yup’ik, and 8% speak Spanish. As of 2021, 37% live below poverty, however 45% of Alaska Native residents are below poverty.
Strategies / Interventions
Hooper Bay is not exempt from the suicide epidemic plaguing AI/AN communities. Over the past 15 years, 16 youth have died by suicide, and over the past twenty, 25 youth have died. The NC Project will serve the 591 youth of Hooper Bay, 24 years of age and under. Along with completing the NC required activities, I.e., the Community Needs Assessment, Community Readiness Assessment, Tribal Strategic Action Plan and the prevention and postvention protocols for youth at risk for suicide, our Hooper Bay NC Project will also increase positive identity and improve mental health of our youth by providing youth activities, including "Qaygiq", or Life Lessons, with elders teaching and storytelling about traditional healthy life skills and coping skills, craft nights, game nights, ice fishing and camping trips. We will also reopen the Youth and Elder Building so it can be the central point of our NC Project, and this will also provide a safe space for other community activities to hold their events.
Project Goals and Measurable Objectives
We have five goals with measurable objectives, including: 1) Increase positive identity and improve mental health in the youth. This will be measured with a survey and interviews, 2) We will complete the community assessment, community readiness assessment, Tribal strategic action plan, and 3) review and revise the Standards of Care for Youth At-risk and Postvention Protocols. 4) We will build protective factors and coping skills in our youth by teaching them traditional Yup’ik knowledge and ways of living (Yuuyaraq) - with help from our elders in the community, and 5) we will provide safe and healthy youth activities for our youth.
Number of people to be served annually: 300
Number of people to be served through the lifetime of project (5 years): 1,500
Summary of Project
Hooper Bay, a Yup’ik community of 1,375 people in Southwestern Alaska, on the Bering Sea coast, proposes to implement a Native Connections Program using local community members. Through this program we will provide safe and healthy activities for our youth, including Yup’ik “Qaygiq” (Life Lessons) taught by our elders to increase coping skills and prepare our youth to live a healthy and successful life, free from substance use and mental health disorders.
