Reservation loses funding for suicide prevention program

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP

By REGINA GARCIA CANO

PINE RIDGE, S.D. (AP) — The only suicide prevention outreach program on a South Dakota Indian reservation where at least 20 people have killed themselves this year will end in December due to lack of funding, tribal officials said Friday.

The move comes after a federal agency denied the Oglala Sioux Tribe's application for a grant that would have paid for the program on the Pine Ridge reservation for five more years. A copy of the application obtained by The Associated Press shows the tribe was seeking more than $3.6 million for a revamped program. However, federal officials rated the application poorly.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration gave the reservation the opportunity to make changes, but tribal officials didn't read the rejection letter until weeks after receiving it, when it was too late, Kevin Steele, spokesman for the Oglala Sioux Tribe said.

The Sweetgrass Program has cost about $480,000 per year for three years. Yvonne "Tiny" DeCory, a suicide-prevention outreach worker, said the tribe is now asking the federal agency to approve an extension that would allow the tribe to spend close to $200,000 of unused funds from its current grant.

FULL story at link.

Read more: http://bigstory.ap.org/article/0f3f80badc044cbb8029a66f3139e060/indian-reservation-suicide-outreach-program-end

[uppityperson]

1. k&r with sadness

[okasha]

7. Some possible reasons for this:

1, The program did not meet its objectives by a substantial percentage.

2. Their grant writer was inexperienced, or they resubmitted their original grant without substantial modifiication.

3. The grant administrator or evaluator did not meet performance standards.

4. The program failed to expend enough available funds to meet goals. (That leftover money should not exist. )

5. Two of the three grant readers were having a lousy day.

6. Grants. gov is a miserably user-unfriendly website. Something may have gone wrong with the submission process.

7. The pertinent Congresscritter took no interest in tracking and shepherding the application through the process.

[passiveporcupine]

2. So, an average year's income to save a life...isn't worth it?

We aren't worth much any more, I guess. Unless we are born into wealth.

[geek tragedy]

5. No, the problem was the tribal government handed in a mess of an application, were given

a chance to fix it, and couldn't be bothered to read their own mail in time to fix the application.

[passiveporcupine]

6. Mail can be misplaced, or someone might have been out sick

but tribal officials didn't read the rejection letter until weeks after receiving it, when it was too late,

It may have been a simple error, not leaving mail unread because they didn't care. The person sorting and handing out mail may have not realized the significance of mail going into an inbox where nobody would see it for awhile.

It's easy to just say "Oh they screwed up...their fault...should have done a better job", but you don't know how their process works.

Also, depending on the size and funding for this government agency, they may not have had a current qualified grant writer to help them write up an application correctly in the first place.

From the article it sounds like they have many problems to deal with for a very large reservation with a huge poverty problem, and seriously need help. So the funding may not be sufficient to adequately staff the government operations. I hope they get the extension they need and the grant is awarded.

They also need some help in building the community up and dealing with the poverty. People in the US should not be living in poverty. We are a rich country. We CAN afford to fix this.

[PeoViejo]

3. Pine Ridge is the future of this Country

if the GOP crazies have their way.

[geek tragedy]

4. Sounds like the tribal government needs to be voted out. Unacceptable. nt