Improving wabanaki tribal 988 response - this application, improving wabanaki tribal 988 response, will utilize wabanaki public health and wellness' (wphw) 24/7/365 crisis warm line, the wabanaki…

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) Center for Mental Health Services awarded Wabanaki Public Health & Wellness (WPHW) $489,492 on September 30, 2026, under the 988 and Behavioral Health Crisis Services Programs (CFDA 93.00R) to enhance the organization's capacity as the tribal 988 authority in Maine through September 29, 2029.

WPHW will strengthen its Wabanaki Careline—a 24/7/365 crisis warm line—to deliver culturally responsive crisis response services to Wabanaki people across Maine, with particular focus on Northern and Eastern rural counties. The project addresses substantial behavioral health disparities driven by rural geography, historical trauma, limited service availability, and socioeconomic barriers that impede timely access to crisis services for children, adults, veterans, elders, and populations at elevated risk for suicide, overdose, and psychiatric crisis.

In year one, WPHW will enhance Careline capacity through hiring, training, outreach, and quality improvement. WPHW will expand staff from two to five positions by month twelve, train 100 percent of grant-funded staff within six months of hire, and conduct a minimum of twelve outreach events annually while distributing 988 materials and culturally focused resources. Across all three years, WPHW will develop and maintain a partnership network with grassroots organizations, tribal leadership, and state entities to strengthen culturally competent crisis response integration.

Work is performed in Bangor, Maine. The five Wabanaki communities served by WPHW—Mi'kmaq Nation, Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians, Passamaquoddy at Pleasant Point, Passamaquoddy at Indian Township, and Penobscot Nation—are the beneficiary populations.

Improving wabanaki tribal 988 response - this application, improving wabanaki tribal 988 response, will utilize wabanaki public health and wellness' (wphw) 24/7/365 crisis warm line, the wabanaki careline, to enhance our capacity and services to be the tribal 988 authority in maine. This project will serve wabanaki people in maine wherever they are, with particular attention to northern and eastern rural counties. The five wabanaki communities served by wabanaki public health and wellness (wphw) experience significant behavioral health disparities that are compounded by rural geography, historical trauma, limited service availability, and socioeconomic barriers. These factors create substantial challenges in accessing timely, culturally responsive crisis services for children, adults, veterans, elders, and other populations at elevated risk for suicide, overdose, and psychiatric crises. The state of maine has mobile response services offered throughout the state, but there are significant gaps when IT comes to culturally competent services for tribal members. During a crisis, having response services that are not culturally focused and educated can lead to lack of trust and poorer outcomes. The goals for this project are; 1) in year 1 of the project, wphw will enhance careline capacity through hiring, training, outreach, and quality improvement to strengthen services where indicated, and 2) in years 1 through 3 of the project, wphw will develop and maintain a partnership network by creating and strengthening relationships with community stakeholders, including other grassroots organizations, tribal leadership, and state entities. To do this, wphw's objectives include, increase service volume and catchment area by enhancing staff capacity from 2 staff to 5 staff by month 12, train 100% of grant-funded staff within 6 months of hire and offer 1 training opportunity to partners annually, conduct a minimum of 12 outreach events annually and distribute 988/culturally-focused educational materials at each event, implement a continuous quality improvement (CQI) process by month 4 and assess quarterly, execute mous that highlight referral pathways and data tracking with maine crisis line and office of behavioral health within 6 months, collaborate with leadership in all 5 tribal communities quarterly to identify needs and spread awareness of services.