Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes

Reason To Live Native Suicide Prevention Project Narrative
Garrett Lee Smith Tribal
Active
2020
Montana

Target Population: American Indian youth, ages 10-24, who reside on the Flathead Indian Reservation in Montana. Strategies/Interventions: After school programming will be conducted in one of the most remote locations. With partners, they will identify a quarterly theme for the survivor activity, as a way for them to connect, heal, and be part of the prevention movement. Programming that supports interactions with elders and inclusion of cultural elements will be set up each year. Promote ongoing engagement; provide support groups and therapy to youth impacted by suicide. Support tribal/nontribal agencies in development of intervention and prevention activities. Goals: Decrease the occurrence of suicide on the Flathead Reservation by implementing evidence based trainings and providing information to expand community capacity for responding and referring at-risk youth; Raise tribal youth resiliency on the Flathead Reservation by offering culturally informed, evidence based activities that connect them to peers, elders, and the community; increase capacity on the Flathead Reservation for responding to youth at-risk for direct suicide with improved collaboration, system changes, and better use of technology and evidence based screenings; improve the emotional well-being of Flathead Reservation tribal youth with direct services by Mental Health Specialists and Case managers; cultivate better health outcomes for families and friends who have experienced a loss by delivering a battery of post suicide interventions. Numbers served annually/throughout the project: 27,235 Yr 1 3,845, Yr 2 4,750 Yr 3 6,210 Yr 4 6m,230 Yr 5 6,300.