Romans 10:13 "For whoever calls upon the Name of the Lord, in prayer, shall be saved (to keep safe and sound, rescued from danger or destruction)".
I LOVE Romans 10:13-17 OUT OF THE MESSAGE VERSION
I LOVE Romans 10:13-17 OUT OF THE MESSAGE VERSION
“Everyone who
calls, ‘Help, God!’ gets help.”
14-17 But
how can people call for help if they don’t know who to trust? And how can they
know who to trust if they haven’t heard of the One who can be trusted? And how
can they hear if nobody tells them? And how
is anyone going to tell them, unless someone is sent to do it? That’s why
Scripture exclaims,A sight to take your breath away! Grand processions of people telling all the good things of God!
But not everybody is ready for this, ready to see and hear and act. Isaiah asked what we all ask at one time or another: “Does anyone care, God? Is anyone listening and believing a word of it?” The point is: Before you trust, you have to listen. But unless Christ’s Word is preached, there’s nothing to listen to."
For those of you who don't know, I am originally from South Dakota.
My heart has been seriously broken for Native American Youth. In South Dakota and throughout the U.S.
One day my dream is to be able to be a 'sent one' to make an impact in this region and the Youth. Until then I am plugging away here in Arizona. Many of the same heart wrenching statistics. THERE IS HOPE ON THE HORIZON FOR NATIVE AMERICAN YOUTH AND I WILL BE POSTING ABOUT IT AS SOON AS INFORMATION COMES AVAILABLE.
For public awareness purposes I am posting the following. It is an original writing by Cecily Hilleary, originally posted on Sept 08, 2015.
Battling Youth Suicide on Pine Ridge Indian Reservation
Mourners attend the burial of a 19-year-old Oglala Lakota girl on Pine Ridge Reservation, South Dakota, Aug. 17, 2015. (Photo courtesy of Keith Janis)
Native Americans have always had a higher suicide rate than non-natives in the U.S., and the number is rising, especially on Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, home of the Oglala Lakota people.
This year alone, more than 100 Pine Ridge youths between the ages of 9 and 24 attempted suicide. At least 19 succeeded, said Keith Janis, a Lakota environmental and political activist whose ancestor rode with the legendary 19th Century Lakota warrior, Crazy Horse.
What drives these children to their own death?
“I think that the number one reason is the extreme poverty and culture of violence that the federal government instituted here, through all the years of oppression and forced assimilation into non-Native culture. Basically just putting us into reservations which make us invisible,” Janis said.
Last February, Janis’s own granddaughter Santana, age 12, hanged herself in a building adjacent to her house.
“It was a horrible, horrible experience,” he said, his voice breaking.
Janis set up a private Facebook group called “Santana House” to function as a virtual suicide response network. He carefully monitors Facebook accounts belonging to Pine Ridge youth, looking for signs of trouble. One suicide, researchers say, can actually prompt others to try to kill themselves, especially where there is sensational media coverage.
When he sees such comments, he alerts adult members of the group whom he calls ‘God’s Angels.' They step in to offer the child messages of hope, love and support.
One day, he hopes to build a real building to shelter Pine Ridge youth at risk.
Life on the ‘Rez’
Pine Ridge is in Shannon County, South Dakota, a hundred miles away from the nearest town, Rapid City, S.D. -- unless you count Whiteclay, Nebraska, population 14, sitting just a few hundred feet over the border from the reservation. Whiteclay’s sole economy depends on selling beer to Pine Ridge residents – to the tune of 4.5 million cans a year.
Forty thousand people live on Pine Ridge, though only a portion of them are actually counted in the official census. That’s because it’s hard to count the homeless or those who live off marked roads.
There’s no industry or commerce on the reservation, which accounts for its 80-90 percent unemployment rate and an average per capita income of $3,000 a year.
“Some people say it’s like a third world country,” said Janis. “I actually think the more correct term would be ‘fourth world,’ because at least the third world nations have other governments and other non-governmental organizations really reaching out to uplift those countries and spawn development.”
Life expectancy on Pine Ridge is the second lowest in the Western Hemisphere. Infant mortality is 300 percent higher than elsewhere in the U.S. The majority of Lakota struggle with alcoholism. More than half of all adults on Pine Ridge suffer from diabetes and related illness.
Housing is inadequate on Pine Ridge, often lacking basics like electricity, heat or running water. It’s not unusual to see more than two dozen people living in a three-bedroom house, said Janis.
No place to go
About 30 percent of Pine Ridge residents are homeless. Many of them are children.
“The youth that come to our program here suffer from a variety of problems,” Red Willow said. “We deal with sexual abuse, sexual assault, physical abuse, neglect, domestic violence. We have a lot of post-traumatic stress disorder, substance abuse and other mental health issues. And we just don’t have the resources to handle them.”
The shelter relies predominantly on federal funds, which are administered by the state of South Dakota.
“The state gets a block grant from the Feds of $92.10 per child per day,” said Red Willow. “And by the time it filters to us, it’s $27.50 a day to provide shelter, care, food, utilities to eight children.”
After 60 days, residents must leave the shelter. Those that can’t find housing may end up in juvenile detention facilities.
Broken promises
The Lakota tribe is one of several known collectively by the name "Sioux." The Oglala of Pine Ridge are a sub-tribe who, by the mid-19th century, controlled a large swath of the Great Plains around the Black Hills.
As settlers moved further westward during the 1800s, the U.S. government negotiated a variety of treaties by which the Lakota agreed to confine themselves to Pine Ridge in exchange for rationed goods and services -- food, clothing, tools.
“Among other things, those treaties and promises said, ‘We will provide for your health care. We will provide for law enforcement, shelter, education and other services,’” said Byron Dorgan, a former U.S. senator from North Dakota who once chaired the Senate Indian Affairs Committee. “But the fact is, we just haven’t done it.”
This year alone, more than 100 Pine Ridge youths between the ages of 9 and 24 attempted suicide. At least 19 succeeded, said Keith Janis, a Lakota environmental and political activist whose ancestor rode with the legendary 19th Century Lakota warrior, Crazy Horse.
What drives these children to their own death?
“I think that the number one reason is the extreme poverty and culture of violence that the federal government instituted here, through all the years of oppression and forced assimilation into non-Native culture. Basically just putting us into reservations which make us invisible,” Janis said.
Last February, Janis’s own granddaughter Santana, age 12, hanged herself in a building adjacent to her house.
“It was a horrible, horrible experience,” he said, his voice breaking.
Janis set up a private Facebook group called “Santana House” to function as a virtual suicide response network. He carefully monitors Facebook accounts belonging to Pine Ridge youth, looking for signs of trouble. One suicide, researchers say, can actually prompt others to try to kill themselves, especially where there is sensational media coverage.
Santana Marie Janis, 12, at Pine Ridge Reservation, S.D. Courtesy/Keith Janis.
“We see Lakota children really grieving their friends who have killed themselves,” he said. “They will post suicidal thoughts like, ‘See you soon,’ or ‘I’m right behind you.”When he sees such comments, he alerts adult members of the group whom he calls ‘God’s Angels.' They step in to offer the child messages of hope, love and support.
One day, he hopes to build a real building to shelter Pine Ridge youth at risk.
Life on the ‘Rez’
Pine Ridge is in Shannon County, South Dakota, a hundred miles away from the nearest town, Rapid City, S.D. -- unless you count Whiteclay, Nebraska, population 14, sitting just a few hundred feet over the border from the reservation. Whiteclay’s sole economy depends on selling beer to Pine Ridge residents – to the tune of 4.5 million cans a year.
Forty thousand people live on Pine Ridge, though only a portion of them are actually counted in the official census. That’s because it’s hard to count the homeless or those who live off marked roads.
There’s no industry or commerce on the reservation, which accounts for its 80-90 percent unemployment rate and an average per capita income of $3,000 a year.
“Some people say it’s like a third world country,” said Janis. “I actually think the more correct term would be ‘fourth world,’ because at least the third world nations have other governments and other non-governmental organizations really reaching out to uplift those countries and spawn development.”
Life expectancy on Pine Ridge is the second lowest in the Western Hemisphere. Infant mortality is 300 percent higher than elsewhere in the U.S. The majority of Lakota struggle with alcoholism. More than half of all adults on Pine Ridge suffer from diabetes and related illness.
Housing is inadequate on Pine Ridge, often lacking basics like electricity, heat or running water. It’s not unusual to see more than two dozen people living in a three-bedroom house, said Janis.
No place to go
About 30 percent of Pine Ridge residents are homeless. Many of them are children.
FILE - A young Lakota girl rides her bike on Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, Jan. 10, 2006. At least 60 percent of Pine Ridge homes are substandard, lacking electricity, running water or sewage systems.
Pauletta Red Willow runs the Oglala Sioux Tribe Emergency Youth Shelter at Pine Ridge, an eight-bed facility that can provide up to 60 days shelter for youth between the ages of 12 and 17. “The youth that come to our program here suffer from a variety of problems,” Red Willow said. “We deal with sexual abuse, sexual assault, physical abuse, neglect, domestic violence. We have a lot of post-traumatic stress disorder, substance abuse and other mental health issues. And we just don’t have the resources to handle them.”
The shelter relies predominantly on federal funds, which are administered by the state of South Dakota.
“The state gets a block grant from the Feds of $92.10 per child per day,” said Red Willow. “And by the time it filters to us, it’s $27.50 a day to provide shelter, care, food, utilities to eight children.”
After 60 days, residents must leave the shelter. Those that can’t find housing may end up in juvenile detention facilities.
Broken promises
The Lakota tribe is one of several known collectively by the name "Sioux." The Oglala of Pine Ridge are a sub-tribe who, by the mid-19th century, controlled a large swath of the Great Plains around the Black Hills.
As settlers moved further westward during the 1800s, the U.S. government negotiated a variety of treaties by which the Lakota agreed to confine themselves to Pine Ridge in exchange for rationed goods and services -- food, clothing, tools.
“Among other things, those treaties and promises said, ‘We will provide for your health care. We will provide for law enforcement, shelter, education and other services,’” said Byron Dorgan, a former U.S. senator from North Dakota who once chaired the Senate Indian Affairs Committee. “But the fact is, we just haven’t done it.”
Location of Pine Ridge Reservation, South Dakota, U.S.
