IT'S BETTER WITH YOU HERE INITIATIVES FOR HELP AND HEALING

By Vivian LaMoore, Inaajimowin Editor

Studies show Indigenous people have disproportionately higher rates of mental health problems such as suicide, post-traumatic stress disorder, violence, and substance use disorders, according to Indian Health Services. September is Suicide Awareness and Prevention Month. If you’re struggling, it’s okay to share your feelings. Connect with people you trust. The Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe Mental Health Department has people you can trust. In recent years, HHS has been focused on erasing the stigma surrounding mental health and the response has been astounding.

From January 1 to July 31, the HHS Mental Health Department has completed 4,102 mental health appointments, according to Nicole Anderson, Commissioner of Health and Human Services. That number of appointments indicates a growing need for mental health services. It also proves that more and more community members are seeking the help they need. To fulfill the need, HHS mental health services have been expanding how they are delivering that help and working on increasing the number of providers.

The data from the CDC states Native Americans have the highest rates of suicide of any other group of people in the United States. “The data is there to support it. In rural areas, that is hard to manage,” Anderson said. “We have had different organizations shut down where people who were having extreme mental health crises would be able to go. Now we are faced with managing these crises. Everyone has become a crisis management center. Our local government, whether it be Aanjibimaadizing or HHS, has had to shift the way we work. If you peel it back, there are mental health issues at the core.”

Anderson continued, “Three years ago, it was pretty bad. Substance use has changed, and that has changed the way people react. We are seeing more and more mental health issues whether they are associated with substance use, or life, and we haven’t had the ability to help people. We had to think about how we were managing mental health.” Building the capacity for in-house providers and therapists needs to be an initiative. The regular hiring process with regular job postings wasn’t working. “We would get people here and there. Often the applicants were fresh out of school and when you are coming to a traumatized community, you don’t have the tools in your tool-bag to be able to manage and navigate it,” Anderson said.

HHS is currently outsourcing for mental health providers and therapists contracting with Portages Health. “We have seen more people now than we did in the last ten years. That shows the need and also the community’s readiness,” Anderson said.

In recent years HHS began a campaign to change the stigma around mental health by attending community meetings and talking to the youth. “The youth are definitely more open talking about mental health and the stigma surrounding it. That was part of the reason we had to look at the bigger picture and what we were going to do.”

She witnessed a lot of the changes in the youth asking for mental health help. The initiative has grown. HHS is working with some of the schools and has a presence in the schools currently providing services at Nay Ah Shing, Hinckley, and Onamia, and are currently discussing options with McGregor. Anderson hopes to be able to build services in every school with Mille Lacs Band members and descendants. Plans going forward are to continue that direct access in the schools and continue to have conversations with the youth.

HHS held a contest with youth across the districts for the youth to design a t-shirt about mental health. The winning t-shirt has a simple Mille Lacs Band floral design with four little words that pack a lot of power — “It’s better with you here.”

“Our youth have really started repping the Mille Lacs Band and repping who they are as Indigenous people. People are going out in the community wearing this shirt. “I had one youth come up to me and say, ‘Hey, I read the shirt, it’s better with me here. That is cool.’ The power of those words is incredible. Just knowing the world is a better place with you here, whether it is on a t-shirt or whatever. We have seen grown men repping this shirt. Even the Chief Executive talks about the stigma that men are supposed to be tough but also says it is okay to not be okay. And at HHS, we have the tools to help.”

Anderson said one of the good things that came out of the COVID-19 pandemic was understanding tools such as telehealth work optimizing access to clients’ needs in the moment and on their phones if they need it. “On the days they can make it in person, they do. But on the days that it is too hard to get into their car and come in, they have the option for telehealth to connect to someone. We also have the coaching aspect. Someone will do a follow-up call. Such as saying, ‘How are you doing today, you missed your last appointment, what is going on?’ We have the tools to help manage those feelings.”

In the past HHS had an 80 percent no-show rate. Now therapists have six to seven people on their schedule and they are all making their appointments. More and more youth are coming forward and so are the Elders, Anderson said.

The clinic also utilizes points of contact. When a patient is seen in the clinic and shows signs of depression, the providers are reaching out to offer care in the moment. Providers have a good working relationship with the mental health department if the patient is willing. “We will throw all the resources we can and offer options to the patient. We call it a warm handoff when we need to connect a clinic patient with someone in mental health.”

Substance use is a component of mental health issues, but also trauma, being exposed to others who have been in substance use, cycles of abuse, grief, and a variety of things. “The truth is, before we didn’t have the capacity to help a lot of people. We were focused on putting out fires. And now we are forming partnerships to get people the help they need.”

Anderson said there is a long way to go and realizes there is still a need to expand services and build capacity to continue to fulfill the growing need. “We need to invest in it now to be able to address the higher need in the future.” She is hopeful that more youth will take a more active interest in mental health as a career choice and enter into the field of therapy or case management.

Connect with someone you know

If you would like to talk with someone at HHS, please call the appointment line at 320-532-4163, option #2.

If you or someone you know is experiencing a crisis, do not hesitate to call or text 911 immediately.

Need immediate emotional support? The 988 Lifeline in Minnesota is available 24/7 to help. Call or text directly to 988, or connect with 988lifeline.org to connect to a trained and caring counselor and get support for whatever you’re dealing with. Call for yourself or if you’re worried about a loved one.