Native American Health Center, Inc.

Native Youth Wellness Initiative IIS (NYWI II) purpose is to develop and implement a statewide suicide prevention and intervention strategy inclusive of collaboration among youth service institutions and agencies for American Indian/ Alaska Native (AIAN) youth ages 10 – 24. NYWI IIs goal is to increase the protective/ risk factors and trauma informed approaches to reduce suicide, suicidal ideation, and attempts among urban American Indian/ Alaska Native youth ages 10 – 24 throughout California while addressing behavioral health disparities. NYWI II project components are as follows:

1. Provide statewide youth suicide prevention and early intervention training;
2. Provide statewide youth suicide prevention and early intervention outreach and engagement;
3. Provide behavioral health prevention and early intervention youth services; and
4. Provide culturally-competent prevention and early intervention services.

NYWI II will partner with urban AIAN serving agencies through California to provide culturally competent prevention and early intervention services and implement direct intervention services at NAHC sites in Oakland, Richmond, and San Francisco utilizing a care team consisting of peer specialists and counselors at each site. NYWII will address youth suicide prevention from the lens of integrated, holistic, traditionally based prevention and treatment services. NAHC will use the Holistic System of Care for Native Americans in an Urban Environment (HSOC) with the ZERO Suicide approach; coupled with Wrap-Around Process, Honoring Children- mending the circle, GONA principles, Children’s Mental Health First Aid, and Question, Persuade, Refer (QPR) Gatekeeper Training.

NYWI II will annually serve the following unduplicated number of individuals: 1) youth/family programs and community events: 250 youth; 2) youth services/ fellowships: 160 youth; 3) youth GONA: 30 youth; 4) statewide social marketing campaign: 500 youth; 5) suicide prevention gatekeeper training: 30 youth; 6) media based workshops: 40 youth; 7) behavioral health services: 25 youth;8) referrals to mental health services:20 youth; 9) prevention/ early intervention groups: 30 youth; and 10) statewide prevention services: 500 youth.

NYWI II will address the challenging issues of suicide prevention across urban AIAN communities statewide, focusing on increasing awareness of issues specific to AIAN youth, increasing capacity to identify, provide surveillance, and address suicide, and reducing stigma associated with discussing suicide. NAHC will expand and coordinate service areas, facilitate programming integration between substance abuse prevention and suicide prevention, expand community outreach and collaboration among similar service agencies, and proactively target challenges and disparities within current programming through client identification and assessment, enhanced member case management, and use of traditional healing.