When Melanie James, Diné, a tribal crisis counselor at the Native and Strong Lifeline, answered her first phone call for the line back in November, it was from a mother struggling to get help for her child who was dealing with suicidal ideation. In the past, the mother had reached out to the 988 lifeline, but had been disappointed with the lack of knowledge about tribal and culturally specific resources.
Native and Strong Lifeline exists to provide those resources.
“She was so grateful that I was Native American because she said in a way, there is still stigma about mental health and the struggles about mental health amongst Native American communities,” Melanie James said. “I feel that Native and Strong Lifeline is one of the stepping stones that will help break that barrier.”
In response to the growing mental health crisis, Volunteers of America Western Washington, one of three of the state’s 988 crisis centers, launched the Native and Strong Lifeline in November 2022. The program is dedicated to serving Native communities across the state.
“There is a taboo of discussing suicide within Indigenous communities,” said Crystal James, Diné, a tribal crisis counselor shift lead at the lifeline. “It’s been great to be a catalyst to go from an area of taboo to getting to a journey of self-healing.”
Since launching, the Native and Strong Lifeline has received over 1,200 calls from across the state, according to Mia Klick, Tulalip and Nuu-Chah-Nulth descendant, the Native and Strong Lifeline coordinator. The lifeline has 14 tribal crisis counselors, but is in the process of expanding up to 18.
Working to support Native communities across Washington, the lifeline is run by Native crisis counselors, most of whom have their own lived experiences dealing with mental health struggles.
Read more at ICTNews.org.
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