About Us
Who Do We Serve?
Native American youth, families, and communities throughout Nebraska regardless of tribal affiliation.
Why?
Availability of behavioral health assistance is very limited in Nebraska. This is especially true for Native American youth and families who face additional concerns with stigma, trust issues, cultural competent care, isolation, and historical trauma that have led to under-utilization of scarce mental health resources.
WHAT DO WE DO?
Society of Care provides trustworthy, accessible, affordable and culturally sensitive behavioral health care, education, prevention services, and support. We understand our relatives. Over 80% of our team are Native American. Our relatives have a voice and role in their care. Our navigators and outreach specialists connect families with services for their needs and passionately advocates for them. With an unwavering belief in a brighter future for Native youth, families and communities, Society of Care empowers youth, strengthens families and impacts their quality of life.
We offer trauma-trained, culturally aware care, community based and guided services, workforce development and education, and strive to change systems to improve lives and measurement. Specific interventions include evidence-based therapy, parenting strategies and psychoeducation and cultural support and re-education.
Society of Care assures the effectiveness of service by closely monitoring, evaluating, and adapting our approaches.
Where?
Society of Care has a physical presence in the reservation communities of Santee, Macy, Walthill, and Winnebago as well as in metropolitan Omaha and Lincoln and frontier communities in the Nebraska panhandle including Alliance, Chadron, Gordon, and Rushville.
Licensed behavioral health providers provide treatment throughout the region through telehealth and in person care. Telehealth allows for greater flexibility and confidentiality and is very convenient for those in rural areas.
Society of Care Navigators – outreach specialists educate youth and families as true partners in care, and strive to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of systems serving youth.
Our Story
From humble beginnings to statewide care
Society of Care is a leading trauma and resilience resource for young Native relatives, their families, and communities throughout Nebraska. We have been changing lives, strengthening families and building healthy communities in various forms for nearly a decade. We are proud to be operate as part of the Santee Sioux Nation and, through the grace of the Santee Sioux leadership, work alongside any self-identified Native relative in Nebraska.
Our original goal was to develop a culturally competent telehealth system providing behavioral health services, training and prevention activities to Nebraska Native American youth and their families. A complementary intent was to promote, cultivate and develop community and system level changes to increase the mental health wellness of Native youth and their families. These goals have been advanced.
Society of Care is an innovative initiative that provides quality care. We continually seek to expand our scope and increase the accessibility of our services. Throughout our growth, our core values have been consistently embodied in the work:
- Family driven
- Youth guided
- Community based
- Culturally & linguistically competent
- Individualized
- Evidence based
- Trauma traianed
What Sets Us Apart?
Our team is composed of members of the communities they serve. Licensed behavioral health therapists providing evidence-based and culturally competent services to youth and their families. We also emphasize traditional healing (practice-based evidence) approaches. In all that we do we seek to provide and advance:
- trauma-trained, culturally aware care for young relatives
- community-based and guided services
- workforce development and education
- systemic change improving lives
- quantative and qualitative measures of effectiveness
Society of Care’s team members are multi-tribal and racially diverse. Over 80% of team members are Native American and can relate to the children we serve. Our behavioral health providers are national experts in addressing historic and inter-generational trauma. The work provided by Society of Care is enhanced by navigators and outreach specialists who provide assessments and referrals to meet behavioral health needs as well as other needs such as food, clothing, shelter and transportation.
The need for our work is evident in the demographic and disparity indicators of Native American youth in Nebraska. Society of Care is overcoming barriers and showing favorable outcomes that include educating relatives about historical trauma and behavioral health, building trust with high satisfaction ratings, involving the relatives voice in the care, increasing referrals and providing needed behavioral health care. In addition to providing quality care we are also dedicated to increasing data, research, and understanding.