Monroe Youth Coalition gains Sources of Strength funding

They knew the timing would be tight, but when the Monroe Community Coalition was given the opportunity to apply for I-502 Dedicated Marijuana Account (DMA) funding to help aid its suicide prevention efforts, it jumped at the chance.

The Monroe Community Coalition is funded through the Community Prevention and Wellness Initiative (CPWI), a grant-funded prevention effort administered through a contract with the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services Division of Behavioral Health and Recovery (DBHR). The I-502 DMA funding was made available by the DBHR in the form of grants that community-based coalitions and other organizations providing services to youth were invited to apply for.-á -á

"It was a competitive process,GÇ¥ said coalition coordinator Joe Neigel. "We were one of 12 communities selected.GÇ¥

The available funding was earmarked for very specific mental health suicide prevention programming. The grant criteria stipulated the funding be used on an evidence-based, cost-effective program, and a certain threshold of evidence had to be satisfied.

The coalition's leadership team analyzed the options to see if any of the programming that fit the DBHR criteria would work for them.-á -á

A peer-led, suicide prevention program called Sources of Strength was slated for further consideration, because the program dovetailed in neatly with what the Monroe Youth Coalition has already been doing in relation to mental health awareness and suicide prevention. Once Youth Coalition leadership reviewed the program and agreed it would enhance the group's efforts, the decision was made to move forward.

They applied for the grant, were awarded the funding and the program has now been implemented.

"Sources of Strength isn't a curriculum, it's not a class, it's an initiative. The reason why we thought it was such a good fit is because it's basically asking you to build a coalition that distributes messages of hope, help and strength,GÇ¥ Neigel said. "We're there, so it's just a natural fit.GÇ¥

The Monroe Youth Coalition has taken up suicide prevention as a part of its mission, and last year created a short film called "You Are Not AloneGÇ¥ to encourage kids who are struggling to seek help. They have since broadened the You Are Not Alone campaign school wide ' You Are Not Alone posters adorn the walls throughout the school, along with the names of every Monroe High School student handwritten on a star-shaped piece of paper.

Sources of Strength and the Youth Coalition's You Are Not Alone campaign were a perfect match, Neigel said.

Sources of Strength trainer Dan Adams spent the day at Monroe High School on Monday, March 14, to present the program and provide training to a group of more than 40 students; some youth coalition members and some not. The idea of the program is to create a team of peer leaders tasked with spreading hope, help and strength both at school and in the community. Trusted adult advisors are a part of that team, as a way to evolve peer social norms associated with help-seeking.

Although Sources of Strength is a suicide prevention program, depression and substance abuse can be impacted as well.

"We know substance abuse to be present in over 65 percent of suicide attempts, so it's really common among teenagers that those two go hand-in-hand,GÇ¥ Adams said.

Students were taught to see themselves as connectors to help and strength, as Adams stressed the importance of seeking help from a trusted adult when someone is struggling. He gave students the national suicide prevention hotline and asked them to identify trusted adults in their lives they could go to for help.

"As peer leaders, we're asking you to be connectors to help and agents of change,GÇ¥ Adams said. "We're not asking you to be junior psychologists or peer counselors. Our role is to connect people to help and to be agents of change.GÇ¥

Adams held interactive discussion about warning signs that can indicate someone might need professional help. One student recalled a time he was having suicidal thoughts, and a friend intervened, enabling him to get the help he needed. He said he was angry initially, but-á later very grateful. Adams encouraged all the students to bravely seek help when they feel it's needed, and not let concerns about the friendship stop them.

"Just be brave enough to reach out and ask for help,GÇ¥ Adams said. "Sometimes the barrier to that is we're worried about losing a friendship, but as stories we've heard today, even if they're going to be mad at you at first, they almost always come back and are thankful afterwards.GÇ¥-á

Adams said it's important Sources of Strength focuses on positive messages of hope rather than negative messages of "sad, shock, trauma.GÇ¥ Sad, shocking and traumatic messages have a way of perpetuating depression and making it even worse, he said.-á

"We don't want to get people's attention by highlighting the negative aspects or that which is traumatic or shocking,GÇ¥ Adams said. "We want to inspire people to overcome those difficulties by talking about hope, help, strength.GÇ¥

During the training, Adams asked students to identify their sources of strength, such as family support, positive friends, generosity, spirituality, healthy activities and mentors. At the end of the day, they were split into groups to brainstorm ways they could activate Sources of Strength at school and in the community. Adams suggested things like social media campaigns, a gratitude challenge, a Sources of Strength week, newsletters and announcements.

Sources of Strength isn't the only program being implemented by the Monroe Community Coalition that uses DMA funding; they will also be working with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Snohomish County this year to provide community-based mentoring services to local youth. Additionally, as a part of the Sources of Strength grant criteria, the coalition will hold a community-based youth mental health first aid training session that will take place in April.

The coalition connects community members and numerous local agencies, including the YMCA, the Monroe Boys & Girls Club, Take the Next Step, the Monroe Police Department, Housing Hope and Snohomish County, and the group's efforts are really starting to come together, Neigel said

"We're kind of moving from collaborating to really coordinating with each other,GÇ¥ he said.

The Monroe Community Coalition's efforts have been recognized on a statewide level, as the DBHR has invited the coalition to talk about the Community Prevention and Wellness Initiative in front of the Governor's Review Council in April.-á -á

"They were asked to identify one tribal community and one non-tribal community to come and talk about the initiative at the ground level, and we were the community selected,GÇ¥ Neigel said.

The Monroe Community Coalition meets at 1 p.m. on the second Thursday of every month in the Monroe Public Schools administration building at 200 E. Fremont St. in Monroe. For more information on the coalition, visit monroecommunitycoalition.com or www.facebook.com/monroe.cc.united.