Last recorded in 2021, Native Americans have a 99% greater suicide rate than any other racial/ethnic group. Many native children, women, and men have faced trauma, racism, abuse, and neglect in their life. With very few resources provided and a stigma surrounding mental health, countless Indigenous people and children are left unheard, unseen, and pushed to the side. With my degree, I dream and intend to provide treatment and a better understanding of mental health to my tribe and my people. Due to personal experience, I know firsthand what it’s like to feel hopeless, unmotivated, hurt and feeling like you can’t go on anymore. Especially growing up in a household where therapy or counseling was considered not a “Native thing”. With that kind of stigma or thinking that most native families have, it makes it incredibly difficult for those who need mental health services to receive them. Which continues the vicious cycle of feeling hopeless, lost, or unwanted that they’re already stuck in. With my experience in working in a behavioral hospital and my education, I want to provide patients with the utmost care in their treatment and listen to their stories. Mental health, especially in children, has become my passion and purpose in life after working with troubled youth and learning about their hardships. There is nothing more rewarding than helping a child or teen in need and making a difference in their life. Removing them from a bad situation, providing a listening ear to their anxieties, and understanding their behavior do wonders for their mental health and physical health, as well. And that is exactly what I want for my community. I want to be that change in my tribe and my people. I want to be the person in my community that distressed individuals come to without judgment and open arms. If I had someone like that when I was younger, I know wholeheartedly that I would have felt unburdened and understood. Many people just need to be heard and shown that they are not alone, they do not have to struggle with their mental health and that suicide or self-harm is not the answer. Mental health matters and it’s brushed aside too often, which only continues to hurt more and more of our people. I want to be able to implement the idea of counseling, asking for help, and dealing with our mental health as good things and not something you should be ashamed of ever.