A $500,000 grant will fund a suicide prevention program for the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, the tribe announced August 22. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration funding will benefit the Sault Tribe Alive Youth (STAY) Project.

"The purpose of the STAY Project is to literally keep our tribal youth alive. Suicide is a preventable tragedy which has, unfortunately, impacted our tribal community in the Upper Peninsula," said Angeline Matson, assistant membership services director for the tribe.

The seven counties of the Sault Tribe's service area have a suicide rate of 17.4 deaths per 100,000 people, compared to the state of Michigan rate of 11.2, and the national rate of 10.8.

The project's first order of business is to identify and develop a coalition, which will be called the Seven Feathers Partnership and will include representatives from elected leaders and policymakers, schools, health care providers, community agencies and organizations, the juvenile justice system, the foster care system, and faith-based agencies. A full-time project manager is expected to be hired to spearhead the project, which is set to begin September 30.

The coalition will work with populations including Native American youth ages 10 to 18, Native American youth ages 18 to 24, teacher education students attending regional colleges and universities and likely to become teachers of tribal youth, and parents and family members of tribal youth.

The tribe was one of 12 tribal organizations who were awarded grants totaling more than $16 million over three years to support suicide prevention. The grant was provided through the Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Act, which provides funding for programs to combat suicide.