Sacramento Native American Health Center, Inc.

The purpose of the Sacramento Suicide Prevention & Early Intervention Initiative is to strengthen protective factors to decrease Native youth suicide in the Sacramento, California region. Sacramento Native American Health Center (SNAHC) serves Sacramento’s American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) people as well as members of the local community. SNAHC will serve 250 youth AI/AN ages 10-24, their families, community members, partners and gatekeepers each year and 800 unduplicated individuals over the life of the grant. Programming will be based in SNAHC’s Behavioral Health Initiatives and Services Department, which integrates AI/AN youth prevention programming, early intervention services, and behavioral health treatment, and will build off existing work to expand suicide prevention, screening, assessment, early intervention and postvention services for AI/AN youth 10-24 and their families in Sacramento County. The project goals include: 1) advancing community readiness to address suicide among AI/AN youth 10-24 and their families in Sacramento County; 2) strengthening suicide preventative factors among AI/AN youth 10-24 and their families; and 3) strengthening SNAHC’s clinical and system response to suicide risk, attempts, and postvention. SNAHC will build new partnerships to address suicide prevention and early intervention needs through the formation of the Community Suicide Prevention Coalition. SNAHC will also engage existing partners: the Multi-Agency Partners consisting of county-wide stakeholders; the youth, parent, and evaluation Advisory Groups; and the Intersegmental Group, representing local educational systems that serve AI/AN. Strategies and interventions to be used will include both Evidence-Based and Community-Defined Practices to best address suicide risk among urban AI/AN youth. Practices already underway include PHQ-9 Screening for depression, Question, Persuade, Refer (QPR), Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST), Youth Mental Health First Aid, and Mental Health First Aid. The direct therapeutic service practice will be Healing the Circle – Mending the Child, a culturally adapted Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for AI/AN. Prevention work will use the Gathering of Native Americans curriculum and trainings from Native Wellness Institute Curriculum, We R Native, Native Stand and the Native Youth Sexuality Network. Social marketing approaches will be engaged on a peer-to-peer model to promote positive social messages. Objectives include: training 250 providers, Gatekeepers, and community members; developing a youth peer mentorship program serving 9 youth per year; providing suicide prevention screenings at out-reaching community events; providing early intervention services to 50 youth per year; providing postvention services; providing a Youth Safe Space to 80 youth per year; providing a Family Gathering of Native Americans to 80 AI/AN community members; providing regular talking circles for teens; creating peer-based social marketing materials; providing life skills training to 15 transition-aged youth per year; and building on our Tribal Youth Suicide Prevention work to strengthen clinical referral processes and postvention services.