WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Tom Udall, D-NM, today announced that Mescalero Apache Schools in New Mexico will receive $48,040 from the Department of Education to fund services to help prevent suicide among teens and young adults.
The funding comes after four young people from the Mescalero tribe took their own lives over the course of less than two months last year. It will fund emergency services to schools experiencing a "traumatic event that disrupts the learning environment," according to the Department of Education.
"The tragedy of teen suicide is tearing apart too many Native American families," Udall said. "This funding is critical to helping our young people manage through difficult emotional times by giving them the support they need in school and in their communities."
Udall cited the Mescalero tragedy last year in his push for health care reform legislation to include measures to combat the growing epidemic of teen suicide in Indian Country, where the rate of suicide is 70 percent higher than the general U.S. population.
Udall's proposal, which was ultimately included in the Indian Health Care Improvement Act as part of health care reform, will expand a program that has proven successful for the Zuni Tribe in New Mexico which connects schools and parents with the community, teaches students to be peer educators, and helps middle and high school students learn life skills to prevent suicide.
New Mexico, which has the fifth highest Native American population in the country, also has the seventh highest rate of suicide for youth ages 10 through 24 years old.
