Asa'carsarmiut TBHSUP Project will enable the community and partners to increase their capacity, implement protocols to prevent misuse of substances, especially for our youth. - Summary This five-year approach will support the Asa’carsarmiut Tribe to create a stand-alone prevention program that is community-led and traditionally grounded. Taking a primary prevention focus, assessing local needs, and ensuring sustainability through local ownership and adaptability, our program will incorporate tribal informed, evidence-based practices as aligned with SAMHSA Strategic Priority for preventing substance misuse, abuse, and addiction. Abstract The Asa’carsarmiut Tribe is a federally recognized tribe governing approximately 1,400 tribal members spread across the United States. The tribal council is comprised of a seven-member, three-year staggered term council. We are a small community on the Yukon River, located in southwest Alaska, approximately 90 miles from the Bering Sea and 150 miles northwest of Bethel, Alaska, a larger city within the Yukon/Kuskokwim delta. We are also approximately 470 miles northwest of the largest city in Alaska: Anchorage. There is only one road leading in and out of Mountain Village; it leads to the St. Mary’s airport, Pitka’s Point, and the community of St. Mary’s. There are no other roads or highways that lead to or from Mountain Village, making it a very secluded community within the Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge and the Kusilvak Census District. Mountain Village had an estimated population of 600 with a median age of 20.5 in 2024. The median income in Mountain Village in 2024 was $65,078, with a poverty rate of 367. Income reported by male (2024) $12.8k; female (2024) $8.27k. School enrollment in 2024 was 363. Mountain Village living units were reported as 252. According to the Office of Substance Misuse and Addiction Prevention OSMAP, (21.1%) Alaskans aged 12+ experienced a substance use disorder (SUD) during 2022 to 2023, higher than the national average of 17.2%. Early-life trauma drives long-term risk. Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), such as abuse or substance use in the home, are strongly associated with increased likelihood of substance use later in life. Addressing substance use requires coordinated, sustained action. In 2021-2023, Alaska data by substate region reports substance use aged 12 or older “in the past month”: Binge drinking, 20.5%; Cigarette use 25.3% (Northern, Interior and Western regions/Mountain Village) is significantly higher than the state average; Illicit drug use 24.9%; Marijuana use 25.2%; Opioids 3.9%. Notably, in 2021-2023, the estimate for drug use disorder in the past year among people aged 12 and older was higher for Northern, Interior, and Western regions, where Mountain Village is located, at 19.9%. The estimate for alcohol use disorder in the past year (2024) among people aged 12 and older was 11.9%. Goals and measurable objectives have been developed to meet the needs of our community and align with SAMHSA Strategic Priorities. The overarching goals of the project are to 1) increase the local infrastructure and capacity of the Mountain Village community; 2) to increase community readiness to identify, prevent, and respond to youth substance use and misuse, and overdose risk; to 3) increase access of youth ages 10-24 to early prevention, intervention and local prevention specialists and behavioral health services.
