Monday, December 30, 2024
12/30/2024
Population to be served: All Alaskans, Alaskans calling the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline Number of people to be served: 40,000 Summary of project: Alaska’s need for improved suicide prevention and early interventions like the 988 Lifeline is tragically evident. In 2019, suicide was the leading overall cause of death for youth and young adults in Alaska aged 15-24. In addition to the high rates of suicide across all age groups, Alaska faces further challenges in the delivery of behavioral health services and the implementation of programming. Outside of the three largest cities (Anchorage, Fairbanks, and Juneau), all of Alaska’s boroughs/census areas are considered frontier by the state, with access to behavioral health services often only possible by boat, plane, or telehealth. Many of these rural communities experience significant health disparities, are historically underserved, and have populations that are majority Alaska Native. They suffer disproportionately from suicide, with Native Alaskan youth in these communities currently experiencing the highest rate of suicide in the nation.1 While the current 988 Lifeline response system in Alaska has made substantial progress since it was initiated, challenges to implementation on a statewide level remain. In Alaska there is only one accredited Crisis Call Center that is a member of the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline and from January-March 2021, there were 2,081 Lifeline calls attempted. Only 61% of those calls were answered. Increasing our Lifeline call answer rates to 90% is dependent upon an increase in staffing and capacity. Part of the 988-expansion plan outlined in this proposal includes increasing the call answer rate for Lifeline/988 calls. Another gap in services is the lack of 24/7 coverage for 988 text and chat, which is a priority under this proposal. A further need addressed under this funding is to add to our landscape analysis of the programmatic needs and costs associated with dispatching mobile crisis teams and building capacity to make referrals to tribal health organizations. The goals that will be guiding the objectives and activities proposed in this project are as follows: • GOAL 1: Increase the Capacity of Alaska’s 988 Response to Achieve a Call Answer Rate of 90% and Ensure Future Sustainability: • GOAL 2: Strengthen Partnerships for an Improved and Coordinated Response Across the Crisis Continuum • GOAL 3: Improve the Analysis and Use of Statewide Suicide Data to Better Inform Priorities, Policy, and Programming • GOAL 4: Develop an updated Alaska 988 Communications Plan that is Aligned with the 988 Partner Toolkit • GOAL 5: Improve The Continuous Quality Assurance Capacity For Alaska’s Crisis Call Center • GOAL 6: Improve Coordination With Tribal Health Organizations to Facilitate Community Engagement and Increase Referrals to Available Services • GOAL 7: Build a Comprehensive Network of 988 Referral Resources and Increase Post-988 Follow-up Capacity to Ensure Clients are Connected to Service 1 Wexler, L., Apala Flaherty, A., Begum, F., White, L., Kouassi, L., Wisnieski, D., Davis, A., & Ewell Foster, C. (2023). Describing meanings and practices related to firearms, safety, and household storage in rural Alaska Native communities. Journal of Rural Mental Health, 47(1), 30–40. https://doi.org/10.1037/rmh0000207
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