This story was originally published by The Intersection.
Amid ongoing uncertainty over federal funding of local health services, a project to prevent suicide and substance use among Native American youth in Kern County could be scaled back, or possibly eliminated.
Since 2020, the Bakersfield American Indian Health Project (BAIHP), a nonprofit serving Native communities in Kern County, has used federal money to fund a program that integrates cultural practices into its youth services. Customs such as music, regalia making and medicine gathering are taught and practiced to promote social, emotional and spiritual health…