Thursday, September 14, 2006
CONTACT: Barry E. Piatt
or Brenden Timpe
PHONE: 202-224-2551
DORGAN ANNOUNCES $475,000 TO HELP PREVENT SUICIDE AMONG AMERICAN INDIAN TEENS
Senator says funding will help address a problem that has affected too many families
(WASHINGTON, D.C.) --- U.S. Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND) Thursday announced two federal grants totaling $475,000 that will help prevent suicide among American Indian youth in North Dakota.
Dorgan, Vice Chairman of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, held the first-ever Senate hearings on Indian teen suicide last year in Bismarck and Washington, D.C., to help focus attention on the problem. American Indians have the highest rate of suicide of all ethnic groups in the United States. In fact, Indian youth in parts of the Great Plains are 10 times more likely to commit suicide than their non-Indian counterparts. Last week, he and Senator Kent Conrad and Congressman Earl Pomeroy announced a separate $400,000 grant to prevent youth suicide on the Standing Rock Reservation.
The funding Dorgan announced today includes a $75,000 grant for the University of North Dakota (UND). The funding will be used to create a “circle of care” that allows UND officials to coordinate efforts with suicide prevention coordinators and mental health contacts on reservations.
Another $400,000 grant will be used by the North Dakota Department of Health aimed at suicide prevention and early intervention among tribal and rural youth. The goal is to reduce youth suicide mortality in high-risk areas of North Dakota by 25 percent over the next three years.
“This funding is a crucial step in addressing a problem that has affected far too many families on our reservations and rural areas,” Dorgan said. “Many American Indian youth live in Third World conditions and see no opportunities or hope for the future. I realize this is a sensitive topic, but I hope that by shining a light on teen suicide we will give strength to these young people and let them know they are not alone.”
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