Heavy metal is healing teens on the Blackfeet Nation

Connecticut colleges are implementing QPR (Question, Persuade, Refer) training to teach students how to recognize suicide warning signs, ask direct questions like "Are you thinking about suicide?" and connect peers to professional help. Since 2022, over 1,000 people have been trained through Connecticut Children's Youth Suicide Prevention Center alone, with hundreds more trained at individual campuses like Southern Connecticut State University.

Nuci’s Space aims to prevent suicide by providing a safe space for people of all ages, particularly youth, to connect and play music. They also offer affordable practice spaces and mental and physical health care services for participants, including affordable counseling.

The Native and Strong Lifeline aims to provide culturally relevant mental health care services and support to members of the Native community. Since launching, the lifeline has received over 1,200 calls from across the state, handled by its team of tribal crisis counselors, many of whom have their owned lived experiences with mental health struggles.

To help address domestic violence and intervene in crises such as suicide and addiction within Native American communities, a decades-old culture-based program offers workshops that "foster healing through embracing community and tradition." These Gathering of Native Americans programs, which are designed specifically with the audience in mind, focus on community members helping community members as a form of counseling.

Community members of Amador County are implementing suicide trainings and community events to help intervene in crises and destigmatize talking about mental health. Using "leftover dollars from the state’s Proposition 63 millionaire tax," these efforts have resulted in community conversations and events such as suicide walks.

A small, participant-led weekly arts and crafts group in Barrow has helped around 15 men living with mental health conditions, dementia, and autism build social connections and overcome anxiety-related challenges.

In Benin, indigenous beliefs, knowledge, and traditional governance systems are helping communities protect biodiversity and adapt to climate change. Vodun, a spiritual practice that protects fragile and vital ecosystems, has enabled the preservation of more than 1,200 acres of mangroves over the last decade.

To address mental health challenges faced by first responders, a variety of organizations throughout the state are using Native Hawaiian cultural healing practices, such as lomilomi massages and ocean-based healing. Participants in the programs report reductions in PTSD symptoms, less stress and deeper peer connections.

Indigenous communities confronting poverty, loss of traditional land, and marginalization in Malaysia are finding support through PACOS Trust, a faith-based group focused on community organizing. By providing structured leadership training, advocacy skills, and livelihood development initiatives, PACOS empowers young Indigenous leaders to address pressing issues in the community, advocate for land rights, and preserve their cultural practices.

A rural school is taking a “try everything” approach to helping students cope with mental health struggles, which were exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. From providing various forms of therapy, to school-based clinic services and mental health education, school staff are leaning into more of a public health approach to mental health care. The services are also seeing support from parents and guardians as nearly all who were asked for permission to treat their child agreed, compared to just 70% before the pandemic.