Piloting +Connection is Medicine / The Healing Spirits Program

The Safety Planning Intervention is a brief intervention that directly targets suicide risk with demonstrated efficacy and is a recommended best practice for suicide prevention. The intervention aims to provide participants with an individualized set of steps that can be used progressively to both reduce risk and maintain safety when under particular stress. It also includes a series of brief telephone calls to revise the safety plan and facilitate connections to care. The study team will adapt the intervention to target a larger range of mental health distress.

Caring contacts is a cost and time effective suicide prevention intervention. It traditionally utilizes letters and postcards that are sent to an individual to remind them that they are cared about and that they matter. Research suggests that this intervention significantly reduces the likelihood of dying by suicide and suicide attempt over a person's lifetime. This intervention has the potential to reach more individuals at risk in the community. In this study, the research team will allow participants to receive these messages by postcard/MMS and will adapt the intervention to align with cultural values.