The Department of the Interior announced that the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) awarded an additional five-year contract to increase access for behavioral health and wellness support to all students and staff at Bureau-funded schools and programs. Initially designed to increase access to services during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Behavioral Health and Wellness Program provides virtual counseling and on-site crisis services.
“The Interior Department is committed to creating positive, safe and culturally-relevant learning environments,” said Secretary Deb Haaland. “I am proud of the hard work by the Bureau of Indian Education to ensure that Indigenous youth have the support they need in a culturally relevant and supportive environment for their physical, mental and emotional well-being.”
The BIE’s Behavioral Health and Wellness Program provides students and staff at all Bureau-funded schools and programs with Indigenous focused, evidence-based and trauma-informed behavioral health and wellness supports. Services are tailored to meet the unique and diverse mental, cultural, spiritual, emotional and social needs of Indigenous communities served by BIE.
“Our schools play an important role in the lives of students, faculty and staff, and tribal communities,” said Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Bryan Newland. “By providing these resources, we will help our students and BIE team succeed inside the classroom. Even more importantly, we will help promote the mental and physical well-being of entire communities.”
Services include tele-behavioral health counseling focused on providing short-term, solution-focused, and culturally sensitive virtual counseling, a BIE-specific 24/7 crisis hotline, and onsite crisis support. The program’s clinical team is primarily staffed with Indigenous clinicians, who have direct experience serving Native communities.
Read more at InidanGaming.com.
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