NARCH is a joint highly selective center grant program between NIH and HIS. HL7N, along with Division on Addiction, Cambridge Health Alliance, had a successful proposal for the NARCH VIII grant entitled "Promoting cultures of recovery in tribal communities" in 2014. The grant had two goals:
- Immediate Goal: to work collaboratively with the seven tribal nations to identify tribal communities' existing and needed resources for recovery support.
- Long-term Goal: to facilitate the future development of interventions designed to promote tribal adolescents' long-term recovery from chemical dependency.
The research purpose of the NARCH VIII grant was focused on tribal youth returning home from residential or inpatient treatment, realizing that they are vulnerable to relapse, especially if they encounter the same environmental triggers in which their substance misuse developed. This study sought to learn about community stakeholder perceptions of existing strengths and needs for supporting recovering adolescents among six tribal communities of the Inland Northwest.
The research strategy included Group Level Assessment involving the Coeur d'Alene Tribe, the Nez Perce Tribe, the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, the Kalispel Tribe of Indians, the Spokane Tribe of Indians, and the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Reservation and had a total of 166 stakeholders who participated.
NARCH VIII had specific aims to develop lasting partnerships between the Healing Lodge, the Division on Addiction, and the Seven Nations through Tribal Participatory Research (TPR) methods, Increase capacity by training and involving local native college students as Student Researchers, and assess and summarize critical informants' perceptions of available and potential post-recovery support systems within each of seven tribal nations.
The findings included results based on youth feedback and the work with the seven tribes.
For more information on NARCH publications and literature, please click the link below!
https://www.firstface.org/library/
YOUTH
In creating their action plans, youth participants identified strategies their communities could use to help them avoid relapse. These included:
- Youth indicated a need for positive sober activities, particularly sporting opportunities. Using sports and music to help them develop a greater connection to sober activities and support systems.
- The youth indicated the importance of developing new friendships with more positive and sober individuals.
- It was clear that family support is the most desired support; however, it was important for the family to be sober.
TRIBES
Produced Youth Recovery Guides for each of the Seven Tribes based on five themes discovered through NARCH XII focus groups and tribal outreach:
- The importance of providing wraparound/supportive services
- Community Education
- Youth services and events
- Communication and collaboration among tribal departments/agencies
- Recovery coaching model
NARCH VIII's findings grew the need for Mental Health training, which was the focus of the NARCH X grant. The initiative is funded by continued NARCH funding to CIRCLE. The NARCH X grant's goal was to produce a training that can be used to train x̌aʔtu̓s/First Face individuals within the tribes, including youth and adults. x̌aʔtu̓s means First Face; it describes an individual who steps forward to help a person in a crisis or need. x̌aʔtu̓s for Mental Health will be a culturally sensitive, community-based mental health first response system. x̌aʔtu̓s will equip community members to respond empathically and effectively to an individual experiencing a mental health crisis. First responders will serve as a bridge between the individual in need and professional healthcare.
