Goal 1

100 natural helpers will be trained each year to identify and refer individuals experiencing grief and feelings of loss and pain to appropriate services.

GFOL provided training to individuals to serve as natural helpers to youth and young adults. GFOL used four evidence-based programs—Adult Mental Health First Aid (AMHFA), Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST), LivingWorks START, Raw Coping Power, and SafeTALK—to train natural helpers.

Participants came from organizations such as the Abundance Life Church, Adventures Youth Center, American Red Cross, Andersen Middle School, Bank of Guam, Department of Public Health and Social Services, Familian K Farm, Father Duenas Memorial School, Guam Alternative Lifestyle Association (GALA), Guam Amateur Baseball Association, GBHWC, Guam Community College, Guam Housing and Urban Renewal Agency, Guam Memorial Hospital Authority, GTA, ItsBarbieJane LLC, John F. Kennedy High School, Judiciary of Guam, Little Learners Early Childhood, Megabyte, Oasis Company, Ordot Elementary School, Port Authority of Guam, Quickbites, Radio, Sanctuary Inc., St. John’s School, Sports Concepts, Temple University Japan Campus, and University of Guam. A few participants had no employment or organization affiliation. And 5 participants were retirees.

During Year 5, a total of 182 natural helpers completed their training.

OUTREACH ACTIVITY HIGHLIGHTS FROM YEAR 5

Outreach activities continued to be a significant part of the work completed by GFOL in Year 5. GFOL team organized and participated in outreach activities with community organizations, government entities, media outlets, and school groups. Some of the activities included outreach at the Department of Youth Affairs, Ethics in Prevention/Prevention 101, Guam Football Association U17 Girl’s National Team, Guam Housing and Urban Renewal Authority, PayLess Supermarkets Healthy Heroes Outreach, and St. John’s School.

Suicide prevention month 2025 highlights

For Suicide Prevention Month, GFOL also participated in the following events:

On September 6, the GFOL team attended the proclamation signing recognizing September as Suicide Awareness month.
On September 10, GFOL participated in the World Suicide Prevention Day activities at Island Girl Power.
On September 17, the GFOL team attended and presented at the GoPeace 2024 Conference.
On September 19, the GFOL team participated in the I Pinangon Suicide Prevention Forum at the University of Guam.
On September 25-26, the GFOL team participated in the Guam’s 5th Annual Behavioral Health and Addictions Virtual Conference.
On September 30-October 1, the GFOL team participated in the PEACE Leadership Training retreat.

Professional Development Opportunities

The GFOL team participated in the following professional development opportunities:

The GFOL Project Director led a Guam team consisting of members from Guam Behavioral Health and Wellness Center, Guam Fire Department, Guam Police Department, Guam Office of Veterans Affairs and Veterans Affairs-Pacific Islands to the Suicide Mortality Review Academy in Glendale, Arizona.
The Project Director attended the International Association of Suicide Prevention's Asia Pacific Conference in Bangkok, Thailand where she participated in a panel discussion on suicide prevention with Indigenous peoples.
The Project Director attended the Farmer Focus: Cultivating Well-being in Micronesia in Yap, FSM where she also conducted Adult Mental Health First Aid as sponsored by the College of Micronesia and presented a breakout session titled,” Treat Yourself to Better Health” as part of the conference.
The Project Director attended the SAMHSA Indigenous Prevention Summit in St. Louis, Missouri where she participated in two panels on Prevention Workforce and Decolonizing Prevention.
The Social Marketing/ Communications Coordinator attended the National Council for Mental Wellbeing (NatCon24) held in St. Louis, Missouri and the Training of Trainers: “The Pacific Way to Wellness: An Introduction to Mental Health” held in Saipan.
The Technical Assistance Coordinator attended the American Association of Suicidology's annual conference in Las Vegas, Nevada and the SAMHSA/VA Innovations Conference for the Governor's Challenge in San Diego, California.
The Social Marketing/Communications Coordinator and the Training Coordinator attended the inaugural Pan-American Conference for the International Association for Suicide Prevention (IASP) in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
The Project Director, Social Marketing/Communications Coordinator and the Technical Assistance Coordinator completed the Resilience & Thriving Training of Trainers (ToT).

The VA/SAMHSA SMVF Technical Assistance Center was also in Guam to conduct the Suicide Mortality Review (SMR) Post-Academy Site visit with the current SMR Team. The GFOL Project Director led the SMR team for Guam with representatives from the Judiciary of Guam, Guam Department of Education, Department of Youth Affairs, Veterans Affairs Pacific Islands, GBHWC, Guam Office of Veterans Affairs, and Guam Fire Department.

GFOL Professional Development Opportunities

By 2024, Guam’s revised Youth Suicide Strategic Prevention and Intervention Plan for a suicide-safer community will incorporate epidemiological inferences based on qualitative data offered by individuals with lived experience, including youth and adult survivors of loss and suicide attempts.

The two fellows continued at the University of Guam during Year 5. They were supervised by Dr. Gena Rojas, Interim Dean of Enrollment Management and Student Success, with support from Dr. ShinHwa Lee and Venus Leah Ituralde.

Campus & UNIVERSITY-RELATED ACTIVITIES

The UOG Fellows participated in the following events during Year 5:

University of Guam Welcome Back event on January 17-18, 2024
Health and Wellness Screening: “Love Yourself Activity” on February 15, 2024
Health and Wellness Mini Fair on March 28, 2024
UOG Trio Educational Talent Search on July 2, 2024
Spoke to new UOG students about Suicide Prevention on July 11, 2024
Staff Development Day on July 19, 2024
Met with parents and potential students on July 23, 2024
New Student Orientation on July 25 and August 12, 2024
Presented to the new Board of Regents on July 24, 2024
UOG staff presentation on July 24 & 31, 2024
Outreach for returning students on August 15 & 24, 2024
Faculty Development Day on September 13, 2024

GoPeace 2024 Conference on September 17, 2024

In Years 2-5, three evidence based programs will be implemented that normalize positive coping skills and increase help-seeking behavior among youth screened "at risk" from Guam's public school system, emergency departments, psychiatric in- or out-patient units, and other child and youth support organizations.

GFOL partnered with one organization to implement a program for “at-risk” youth: WestCare Pacific Islands completed a summer program, Ready.Set.Summer!, in June 2024. The 2-week summer camp included “activities that enhanced youth’s mental health and well-being, increased their capacity to make positive choices, and engaged in pro-social activities.” 50 youth registered, and 33 participants completed the survey at the end of the camp. 73% of participants indicated that they learned new information at the summer camp. 55% of participants had a positive overall impression of the camp. 79% of participants expressed interest in attending a similar event in the future.

RESULTS FROM YEAR 5

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