Behavioral Health Resources - August 2021

Alaska Department of Health sent this bulletin at 08/06/2021 10:38 AM AKDT

August 6, 2021 Resource Bulletin

Monthly Alaska, National & International Resources and Key Updates on:
Justice Involved  | Mental Health
Substance Misuse & Recovery |
Suicide Prevention & Postvention |
Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders

Miss our last email? Past e-bulletins are posted in the left column on both the ABADA and AMHB websites.

Applicants Needed for the Behavioral Health Advisory Boards

The following seats are available:

Alaska Mental Health Board: Consumer Seat (need lived experience with mental health concerns, either self or as a family member). Term expires 12/2022
Statewide Suicide Prevention Council: Youth Seat (age 16-24). Term expires 12/2022
Advisory Board on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse: Behavioral Health Provider Seat. Term expires 7/2024

All appointments to the boards are made by the Governor. For more information on the duties of these Board or the application process, please email Beverly Schoonover at bev.schoonover@alaska.gov or call 907-465-5114.

To apply for these volunteer positions please click here.

Suicide Prevention & Postvention

Statewide Suicide Prevention Council Meeting
August 24th, 1:00-4:45pm AKDT

The Statewide Suicide Prevention Council will hold its quarterly meeting via Zoom and teleconference. Public comment will be held from 2:15-2:30 p.m. due to the limited length of the meeting. The teleconference number is (253) 215-8782, Meeting ID: 812 2489 4918, Password: SSPC.

Please contact Eric Morrison by phone 907-465-6518 or email eric.morrison@alaska.gov for the Zoom link or with questions.

Invite to Participate: Alaska 988 Planning Coalition Meetings

The Alaska Division of Behavioral Health was awarded a grant to support the implementation of 9-8-8, the national three-digit dialing code for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. The vision for 988 is that it will serve as America’s mental health safety net, reducing suicides and mental health crises and providing a pathway to well-being. Stakeholders are meeting to develop a roadmap for how Alaska will launch and implement 988.

If you are interested in joining these meetings, please email Leah.VanKirk@alaska.gov.

Understanding Suicide Risk Among Children and Pre-teens - Pre-Recorded Workshop

The National Institute of Mental Health convened a roundtable series, “Risk, Resilience, & Trajectories in Preteen Suicide” between January and April 2021, and culminated in a synthesis meeting in June. The series brought together experts to assess the state of the science and short- and longer-term research priorities related to preteen suicide risk and risk trajectories.

To read more and watch the June meeting click here.

_{Alaska Careline}
_{For someone to talk to, call anytime:}
_{1-877-266-4357 (HELP) or text 4help to 839863}
_{3-11 p.m. Tue-Sat}

_{American Foundation for Suicide Prevention}

_{National Suicide Prevention Lifeline}

_{Suicide Prevention Resource Center}

_{PC CARES}

Substance Misuse Prevention, Treatment & Recovery

Preventing Polysubstance Use in Primary Care
August 10, 2021 9:00am-10:00am AKDT

Primary care providers are positioned to be key collaborators in addressing polysubstance use, or the recurrent use of multiple illicit or legalized substances or prescription drugs in a manner other than prescribed. This webinar will summarize the importance of addressing polysubstance use and give an overview of primary care prevention strategies.

For more information and to register, please click here.

Stimulants and Opioids
August 12, 12:00-12:30pm AKDT

Project ECHO and the ANTHC Behavioral Health partnered to develop a virtual learning network focused on improving delivery of medicine for addiction. If you miss a training, recordings will be posted. For questions email: behavioralhealth@anthc.org

To learn more and register, click here.

Building Great Rapport: How to Engage Patients with Unhealthy Substance Use
August 17, 2021 9:00am-11:00 AKDT

In this webinar, Dr. Jim Winkle will describe the role of stigma towards unhealthy substance use, list the basic principles of a Harm Reduction approach to patient care, perform a four-step brief intervention in less than 5 minutes, and explore how to use telehealth platform functions to effectively engage patients.

For more information and to register, please click here.

Complexities of Treating Individuals Who Use Fentanyl
August 18, 10:00-10:45am AKDT

This webinar is presented by provider Ideal Option’s Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Brian Dawson, who is double board-certified in emergency and addiction medicine. Ideal Option has found a 104% increase in fentanyl positivity rates among enrolling patients in Alaska between January 2020 and June 2021. To support patients as they make the transition from fentanyl to buprenorphine, Ideal Option implemented new dosing and support protocols for the challenging "initiation stage", which spans the first 1-2 weeks of treatment. The 30-minute presentation will be followed by a 15-minute Q&A.

To register for the webinar click here.

The Addiction Professional’s Mini Guide to SBIRT for Adolescents
August 18, 11:00am-12:30pm AKDT

The National Association for Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Counselors (NAADAC) is hosting a webinar to introduce promising, feasible approaches to implementing evidence-based substance use screening and brief intervention (SBIRT) methods in therapeutic settings for adolescents. The presenters will outline how to ask adolescents about their substance use and enhance internal motivation to change their behavior (if identified to be at risk) using motivational interviewing and cognitive-behavioral strategies.

For more information and to register, please click here.

Exploring the Link Between Substance Use Prevention and Structural Racism
August 19, 2021 9:00am-10:30am AKDT

The Prevention Technology Transfer Center Network of the Central East is hosting this webinar on the role that structural racism plays in society and its relationship to substance use disorders, including a focus on systems, policies and programs that negatively impact people of color.

For more information and to register, please click here.

5th Annual MAT Conference
August 31-September 2

Hosted by the Alaska Division of Behavioral Health, this conference will give participants the opportunity to learn how to improve services provided to individuals experiencing opioid and stimulant use disorders across Alaska. Professionals from all disciplines are invited to attend. Conference will be held in a virtual format. Focus areas include: Addressing stigma across the continuum of care, Stimulant use disorders, MAT in rural Alaska, Integration of MAT, and Peer Support. Continuing education credits will be available and no cost to attend.

For more information and to register, click here.

_{Alaska Office of Substance Misuse & Addiction Prevention}

_{Recover Alaska}

_{Alaska's Tobacco Quit Line}

^{Alcoholics Anonymous Alaska Statewide Meetings}

_{Narcotics Anonymous Zoom Meetings}

_RADACT

_{Project ECHO}

_{Alaska Partnership Access Line (PAL-PAK) for Prescribing Providers}

_{UW Medicine Pain and Opioid Consult Hotline for Providers}

_{Treatment Connection}

Neurobehavioral

5th Annual Peer Power Self-Advocacy Summit - Anchorage, September 24-26th
Applications due by August 15

This year's event will focus on educating individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities about different services and resources available in Alaska. If you are interested in attending, please fill out an application (not all applicants will be chosen due to limited space). Accommodations will be provided for qualified attendees who live outside of Anchorage.

To apply click here.

FASD Respect Act

This federal legislation introduced by Senators Lisa Murkowski and Amy Klobuchar authorizes funding for FASD prevention efforts, screening, identification, research, and FASD-informed services, and creates a structure for the development of well-informed public policy on FASD.

To read more, please click here.

_{Alaska Office of Substance Misuse & Addiction Prevention - FASD}

_{Alaska Center for Children and Adults - Thursday FASD Support and Discussion Group}

_{Families Affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FAFASD)}

_{Red Shoes Rock: Awareness Campaign}

Justice Involved

Mat-Su Reentry Panel
August 12, 12:00-1:30pm AKDT

The Mat-Su Reentry Coalition will sponsor a Reentry Panel discussion at the Mat-Su Agency Partnership (MAP) virtual meetings, which will have experts from different organizations speak about the services they have to assist Alaskans returning to their communities after incarceration, barriers that exist, and how community organizations can help. For more information contact Barbara Mongar at barbara.mongar@valleycharities.org.

Peer Support Training
August 23-27, 9:00am-5:00pm AKDT

Set Free Alaska is partnering with Alaska Behavioral Health for a week-long in-person training in peer support, for people with lived experience of addiction, mental illness, and/or incarceration. For more info contact: Jen Galvan jgalvan@akbh.org or call 907-444-3666.

Radio Show: Why are Alaska’s parole numbers so low, and what awaits those who get out?

Hosted by Lori Townsend, APRN. In the last five years, the rate of Alaskans granted parole dropped by 50%. The reasons are complicated. The pandemic put a hold on rehabilitation services, and changes to criminal justice through legislation also gave more discretion to the parole board over who would be released. With fewer people being granted parole and others leaving facilities after a year of pandemic lockdown, we’ll discuss the ripple effect on lives and the legal system.

GUESTS: Jonathan Pistotnik, coordinator, Anchorage Reentry Coalition; Bobby Dorton, co-chair, Fairbanks Reentry Coalition; Rich Curtner, former federal public defender, District of Alaska

To listen, please click here.

_{Department of Corrections}

_{CDC Guidelines for Correctional and Detention Facilities}

_{Supporting Our Loved Ones Group}

_{Partners for Progress}

_{Alaska Native Justice Center}

_{GAINS Center}

Mental Health

Alaska Training Cooperative Virtual Training Opportunities

The Alaska Training Cooperative is hosting a variety of trainings for licensed and unlicensed professionals. These include topics such as Traditional Health Based Practices, Alaska Core Competencies, CALOCUS-CASII and ECSII, Emergency Responder and Support, Mental Health First Aid, CPI Non-Violent Crisis Intervention, Suicide Prevention and more.

To view all the trainings and to sign up, click here.

Care Philosophy Training Program

The Care Philosophy program made available through a partnership with OptumHealth, offers a foundation for establishing a trauma-informed environment, rooted in evidence-based best practices and integrates the medical, behavioral, and social components of care for individuals with the most complex needs. Designed with the inter-professional healthcare team in mind, this series was developed to promote collaborative practice in health care delivery by providing a broad range of topics for a variety of learners.

For more information or to register, please click here.

_{Alaska First Responders 24-hour Relief Line}
_{1-844-985-8275

Crisis counseling and general support for healthcare and behavioral professionals}.

_{Alaska Careline}
_{For someone to talk to, call anytime:}
_{1-877-266-4357 (HELP) or text 4help to 839863}
_{3-11 p.m. Tue-Sat}

_{National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Alaska}

_{Alaska Division of Behavioral Health Well-Being Alaska}

_{Alaska Training Cooperative}

_{Alaska Behavioral Health Trainings}

_{Alaska Partnership Access Line (PAL-PAK) for Prescribing Providers}

Other Resources/Opportunities

If you are an agency or an individual with a great resource or opportunity, send us an email and we'll try our best to include it here or in a section above.

Public Comment: State of Alaska Maternal and Child Health Block Grant Action Plan and Strategies
Submit comments by August 19, 5:00pm AKDT

The action plan strategies are designed to impact the state priorities and performance measures that were selected following the 2020 statewide needs assessment conducted during the early onset of the COVID-19 Pandemic. The pandemic has delivered many lessons, including the illumination of long-standing health inequities.

The plan is located here and comments can be submitted by email to vanessa.verigin@alaska.gov or by online survey (preferred method) by clicking here.

US Chamber of Commerce: 10-minute Childcare Survey

The US Chamber of Commerce Foundation has partnered with the Cicero Group, as well as Alaska’s Child Care Resource and Referral Network, thread, and the Alaska State Chamber of Commerce to conduct a survey in Alaska as part of a larger national effort. The purpose of this survey is to understand childcare needs and arrangements and any impact that childcare has on current or future education and employment decisions.

To participate in this survey, please click here.

Veterans Job Clubs: Anchorage and Mat-Su
Mondays 9:30am – 11:00am (Anchorage)
Tuesdays 11:00am-12:00pm (Mat-Su)

Alaska VA Healthcare offers employment services to eligible Veterans, including resume assistance, job search strategies, networking with employers, and more.

Veterans in Anchorage can access meetings by entering the WebEx access code 199 132 7459 or by clicking here with the password VocRehab123!

Veterans in Mat-Su can access meetings by entering the WebEx access code 199 386 9443 or by clicking here with the password VocRehab123!

_{Alaska Division of Health and Social Services}

_{Rural Health Information Hub}

^{Visit Us:}

^{Advisory Board on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse}

^{Alaska Mental Health Board}

^{Statewide Suicide Prevention Council}

_{431 N. Franklin Street, Suite 203 | Juneau, Alaska 99801}

Questions? Comments?

_Sen_{d An Email}_{Or Call 1-907-465-8920}_{Toll-free 1-888-464-8920}

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