Thursday, November 21, 2024
11/21/2024
Round Valley's tribal community has been deeply affected by trauma and substance use, evidenced by two recent youth homicides and multiple youth suicide attempts. The Lighting the Way project will provide needed resources to prevent and reduce suicidal behavior and substance misuse, reduce the impact of trauma, and promote mental health among American Indian youth, by building a healthy network of systems, services, and partnerships to positively impact youth. The first year of the program will focus on building the necessary foundation toward a healthier, more vibrant, and safer community for young people. This work will be done in collaboration with key partners - Round Valley Indian Tribes, Round Valley School District, and Tis'Bil Family Resource/Indian Education Program - to develop a community and culturally based team to conduct planning, implementation, policy development, postvention and crisis response. In year 1, Lighting the Way will conduct needs assessment and readiness work with partners and community and will write a tribal strategic action plan inclusive of workforce development and sustainability planning, to address suicide prevention, mental health promotion, and substance misuse for AI youth using a public health tiered model. By the end of year 1, Lighting the Way will implement this strategic plan. Tier 1 services will include a Youth Center at the high school, providing SafeTALK, Question-Persuade-Refer, and Indigenous Youth Mental Health First Aid as part of a school-based suicide awareness and prevention training program for students, family, and community, a workforce capacity-building plan to increase the mental health awareness and literacy of school staff, administrators, parents, and others who interact with school-aged youth to recognize the signs and symptoms of mental health concerns, and a social marketing strategy to promote awareness and education about mental health activities and services. Tier 2 will focus on building out the process at the Youth Center to screen and identify youth in need of mental health services and supports and (Tier 3) ensure a referral pathway for school-aged youth that require more intensive services. Program impact will be measured by 1) number of policy changes, 2) number of organizations collaborating, 3) number of individuals contacted through outreach efforts, 4) number and percent of individuals receiving mental health services because of the grant, 5) number of individuals who attempted suicide, and 6) number of individuals who died by suicide.
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).
