Unfortunately, because we are out of the US for winters I was not able to attend the Elders Meeting regarding the issues /concerns of what is going on at the cemetery. I did express some of my concerns and points that I would have made before you all if I were present to Aaron Tobey at our Christmas Luncheon as I left Cape 12/21.
My son was one of the first buried in the new section of the cemetery January 2014. Since then that new side has been inundated with many losses of our younger generation due to mental health and substance use disorders. This is adversely impacting our community on many levels. Not only younger people dying but parental loss and friends and family members of our tribal young adults and youth.
The severe lack of mental health providers at our IHS center is adding to the lack of services being provided to our tribal citizens: family and youth to help them deal with their loss/grief/depression and anxiety as well as their own guilt or shame if they have involvement with SAB and mental health disorders. Given the fact that mental health service providers are in critical shortage all over the US Health Care System it is unlikely that there will be a short term fix for this shortage, although every effort should be made by our tribal Leadership to make sure that our IHS provides services that are so grossly deficient - from mental health, substance abuse disorders, dental and referral services to outside providers. Our Tribal Government should have a good handle of data regarding the amount of funds IHS receives and how that money is being spent or what the per capita distribution is per head for tribal members /year as I have experienced myself as well as other family members the lack of expedient payment for services and or the delay in referrals that results in tribal members not receiving timely care or being shamed and embarrassed by unpaid bills from providers that keep them from seeking care. This has been a disturbing trend that I have repeatedly spoken to our IHS team about.
In the interim, as a long standing community Family Medicine primary care provider I have been working with local, nonprofit (501.3 c) organizations that provide FREE services to residents in our communities for support services for recovery from Substances and Alcohol as well as grief support services for all persons in the family in age appropriate groups.
One Shared Spirit, INC (OSS)is located in a private location in the Upper Level of Deer Crossing and offers FREE recovery support with certified Recovery Coaches and Supervisors as well as local Mental Health Care. The AIDS Support Group and Health Initiatives is on site weekly to provide testing for disease as well as health services, OSS offers free fentanyl test kits, NARCAN, and harm reduction supplies and safety training. No referral is needed for any of these services. Weekly free meetings for support groups, yoga for health and other supportive services are available. Contact Donna Jean Lopez for assistance. Just call or show up! (onesharedspirit@hotmail.com)
Sharing Kindness, INC (SK)is another FREE service support group for families and individuals suffering loss from suicide, disease and other unexpected losses like unintentional overdose deaths. There are groups for all ages and family members: parents, grandparents raising grandchildren, teens, young adults and the "the littles". A meal is provided free before each meeting . Sharing Kindness, INC has also trained high school students to be members of SQUADs that students can access for support because of the need for someone who is especially trained to be easily accessible to help their peers get support quickly. Just about every High School on Cape Cod and the Islands now has a SQUAD. Contact Kathleen Shine-O'Brien, Lead Mental Health Provider or Kim Mead-Walters, MD ( Family Medicine) at Sharing Kindness.com or call for schedules and locations as new locations for meetings are being set up to accommodate people all over the Cape.
The problem at our tribal cemetery is a symptom of untreated "disease" of grief, mental health, and Substance Abuse. Let's make sure we don't make the mistake of increasing shame/stigma instead of identifying the disease and treating it humanely and with commitment to preserve our generations of tribal peoples.
Joan A Peters-Gilmartin, PAC, MHP
Tribal Elder
