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The Mission of the Social Work and Cultural Specialist Team: To work with students to establish a Foundation for building self-identity, self-awareness, self-understanding, and resiliency for self-growth in academics, relationships with others, and in fulfilling personal goals.
Strategies to support your children
We offer: individual social work/counseling services to help young people learn effective coping, be successful in the classroom, be supported in their cultural needs as well as help in time of crisis.
We provide: group services to help our students manage grief, relationships, substance use, and many other child-centered topics.
We work with our education professionals to: provide for heightened learning experiences within the classroom via educational presentations, such as reducing bullying, building healthy relationships, avoiding substance use and suicide prevention.
If you have concerns regarding your student, please contact the counselor at your child’s school.
What You need to know to help your child
- Strategies to Help Your Anxious Child
- The goal isn’t to eliminate anxiety, but to help your child manage it.
- Don’t avoid things just because they make your child anxious. Avoidance only works in the short-term, but will worsen anxiety over he long run.
- Express positive - but realistic – expectations. You can’t promise a child that his fears are unrealistic – but you can express confidence that he’s going to be ok.
- Respect your child’s feelings, but don’t empower them. Validation doesn’t always mean agreement. Listen, be empathetic, help him understand what he’s afraid of and always encourage him to face his fears.
- Don’t reinforce your child’s fears. Encourage your child to talk about his fears but give him a way to feel confidant about getting through those fears.
- Encourage your child to tolerate anxiety – it will drop over time
- Model healthy ways of handling your own anxiety. Let your child see you managing calmly, tolerating it, feeling good about getting through it.
- Strategies to Help Your Child Deal with Grief
- Encourage your child to express his feelings. Sometimes children feel like they’re “hurting” a loved one by bringing up the deceased. Talking through this kind of negative life event actually helps your child process the death successfully, while not attempting to avoid the ceased.
- Don’t “protect” your child by attempting to hide your own sadness. Your child will pick up on the deception and be left feeling alone and confused. Feeling sad isn’t bad or hurtful. Your child can learn, from you, how to effectively deal with loss.
- Put emotions into words. The questions youngsters can have are very different from an adults. Don’t overwhelm with too much detail. Listen and comfort.
- Don’t use euphemisms. Be direct. Don’t use “fuzzy” language, such as “passed away”, “gone” or “we lost him”. Kids are very literal and this can make them feel anxious and confused.
- Maintain normal routines as much as possible. Children benefit from the security of regular routines and knowing life goes on.
- Memorialize the person who died. Remembering is a part of grieving and a part of healing. Share memories. Keep photos. Create a scrapbook. Plant a tree.
Community-based resources
Johns Hopkins Center for American Indian Health
The Honoring Life Program is part of the Southwest Hub for American Indian Youth Suicide Prevention. The case managers will provide supports and connection to all care sources for children and their families, while implementing brief culturally-informed interventions.
Honoring Life Program
505-368-4038
Navajo Nation Division of Behavioral & Mental Health Service
505-368-1429
Navajo National Division of Social Services – Navajo Treatment Center for Children & Families
505-368-1193
IHS-NNMC, Ina Counseling
505-368-7302
Here’s how you can help- Look for the warning signs & threats
- Act immediately. Take it seriously.
- Say Something to a trusted adult.
Say Something teaches youth & teens, how to recognize signs & signals – especially on social media – from individuals who may want to hurt themselves or others. Say Something teaches them how & why to go to a trusted adult to get help.
Sometimes students are afraid to speak out because they think they will be considered a snitch or be alienated or physically hurt. This is why Say Something teaches children the difference between telling on someone & saying someone needs help.
Caring for each other is a value we promote in our school & beyond.
How does it work?
- Download the See Something Say Something app at Apple & Android App stores – or search online for the Say Something Anonymous reporting system or call the 24/7 hotline at 1-844-5-SAYNOW
- Tips, once received, will be acted upon by school and/or law enforcement personnel