Blog

When they met this week in Bethel, the state behavioral health boards took a look at the Alaska Mental Health Board (AMHB) and Advisory Board on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse (ABADA) report about the adverse effects of discrimination against Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer Alaskans. The boards decided to endorse the report's findings that discrimination brings a higher risk of drug and alcohol abuse and other risk behaviors. The boards think that more access to health and community...

The Alaska Resilience Initiative (ARI) e-newsletter can be accessed through this link to read more about each of this subjects and help us spread the word. In this e-newsletter, we will be providing: 1.) Information from about how the upcoming State of Alaska budget decisions will affect Alaska's children and what you can do * right now * to make a difference for children and families 2.) Information on the bill to repeal and replace the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, and how...

A scan done in March by the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) through StateNet of bills introduced in 2017 that specifically include adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) in the text produced a surprising volume of bills (close of 40) in a large number of states (18). A scan done a year ago produced less than a handful. NCSL is a bipartisan organization that serves both state legislators and their staffs. The shear volume of bills in so many states represents a promising...

Mat-Su Valley faith leaders and all those in faith communtiies who work with children, families, and communities: On April 5th, the Mat-Su Faith Leaders Forum on "Safe Children, Healthy Families" will be held, from 6:30 - 8:30 pm at Turkey Red restaurant in Palmer. This is an opportunity to learn about the research on trauma and resilience, hear examples of how other faith communities have applied this research to their services and approaches, and brainstorm with your peer ... s about what...

Today is International Women's Day, an appropriate day to take note of and honor the decades of feminist-led research and activism that preceded the ACE study and built the foundation for so much of the trauma and resilience field of work. While the high percentage of people experiencing child sexual abuse may have been unfamiliar to the medical field prior to the ACE study, feminist researchers, anti-violence activists, and community leaders had been studying, writing, and b reaking the...

“There’s an old saying in the medical community,” Dr. Jay Butler says, “statistics are people without the tears attached.” He’d know. He’s Chief Medical Officer and Director of the Division of Public Health at the Alaska Department of Health and Human Services and Chairman of the Alaska Opioid Policy Task Force. In the case of that second job description, sad stories are what drive his work. [For more of this story, written by Aurora Ford, go to ...

To help disadvantaged teens and young adults land jobs, an Anchorage mental health provider is staking out ground in the high-tech farming fields of hydroponics and vertical gardening. Inside a warehouse off Arctic Boulevard last month, violet light bathed rows of tall white columns. Leafy greens poked out in vertical rows, marked with handwritten labels for romaine lettuce and parsley. Michael Sobocinski, the chief operating officer of Anchorage Community Mental Health Services, gestured to...

FREE WEBINAR: Trauma History and Extensive Service Use: Strategies for Treatment and Prevention Presented by National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors (NASMHPD)’s State Technical Assistance Project Wednesday, February 15, 2 to-3:30 p.m. ET

Recently, the All Alaska Pediatric Partnership had the pleasure of meeting with Alaska Public Media radio host Kathleen McCoy to discuss a show focused on ACEs, their economic impact and how we can address healing as a community. The show aired yesterday, Feb. 1 and can be heard here.

Our friend Diane Payne from Justice For Native Children shared these resources with us. The videos in this series- increase awareness about the origins, prevalence, and type of violence committed against Alaska Native. For those interested to view this compelling series of videos, please use the link below to access the resources https://ojp.gov/ovc/library/healing-journey.html.

Leaders and youth, family, community workers from all faith communities in Anchorage are invited to this January 24th forum on "Safe Children, Healthy Families," sponsored by the Alaska Governor's Office, Alaska Children's Trust, and Alaska Resilience Initiative. First Lady Donna Walker will be there to welcome and participate with us. Churches, synagogues, temples, mosques, ashrams, groups for meditation or prayer or ritual or conversation, all faith communities have a role to play in...

Tis the season of resolutions. I always hate to see how people start off with such positivity and idealism, plan to be stronger and healthier, and so often end up with that horrible stain of failure and resignation. Every year people fail to stop smoking. Fail to do enough exercise. Fail to lose weight. Then out come the excuses. But I would like to throw an idea out there. What if no excuse was necessary? What if we stopped punishing ourselves and instead looked to real solutions? Real...