The deaths of two middle school boys have forced the Ute Mountain Ute tribe to confront long-held stigmas surrounding suicide and mental health, which plague Native Americans at a higher rate than any other population in the United States.
This fall, a new behavioral health building five years in the making will open on the reservation. Tribal leaders have touted its potential to bring much-needed help to the Ute people: trained clinicians on site, specialists to help clients navigate the world of behavioral health and a culturally relevant program designed for a population saddled with hundreds of years of historical trauma, high rates of substance abuse and domestic violence.
Colorado leaders, community residents and teenagers have sounded the alarm over the recent surge in youth suicides, which have risen to become the leading cause of death for people between 10 and 24. Between 2015 and 2017, there were 533 suicides by teens and children, up from 340 such deaths between 2003 and 2005, according to a report by the Colorado Attorney General’s Office.
While suicide affects all populations, Native Americans and Alaska Natives have the highest rates of any racial/ethnic group in the United States, according to the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And the rates of suicide in Native American populations have been increasing since 2003. Montezuma County, where the Ute Mountain Ute reservation lies, has the fourth-highest suicide rate in Colorado at 42 deaths per 100,000 people – more than double the statewide average.
The behavioral health center, which is scheduled to open in October, will be called Mógúán – “my heart” in the Ute dialect.
“The building is the story of a transformed heart,” said Todd Giesen, the health center’s project director. “When a young person comes in, they’ve got a broken heart. But when they walk out, they’ve got a transformed heart.”
Mógúán will include two new clinicians, two staff members to help people navigate the behavioral health system, and one nurse, Giesen said. One clinician, who specializes in crisis intervention and suicide prevention, has already provided nearly 50 hours of clinical services, he said.
“It’s amazing to see how people have responded to her,” Giesen said.
Mógúán will be centered around trauma-informed care that takes into account the history of Native American people, he said. It aims to be restorative and holistic, with particular focus on the behavioral health needs of those younger than 24.
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