Red Lake receives funding for suicide prevention

BEMIDJI--The Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians will receive funding for methamphetamine and suicide prevention initiatives, according to a release from the Indian Health Service.

Red Lake Comprehensive Health Services was awarded $150,000, according to Pamela Johns, the tribe's public relations specialist. The release said that recipients of the funding "will focus on increasing positive youth development, fostering resiliency and promoting family engagement among Native youth."

Red Lake Tribal Health Director Oren Beaulieu said Comp Health applied for the funding in July and will use the money to hire a suicide prevention coordinator and develop a suicide prevention program.

"We're in...need of a suicide prevention coordinator, so that's what we asked for," Beaulieu said. "We're going to get that person going and provide a plan to provide suicide prevention services for the Red Lake reservation."

Beaulieu said Comp Health has been hoping to develop a suicide prevention program for a while and was just waiting for the necessary funds.

"It feels great, we've been looking for a source of funding to...further develop our suicide prevention program," Beaulieu said. "We need a person specifically identified to head up that project."

Three other Midwestern tribes: the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community and the Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, also received funding.