ANCHORAGE, Alaska—GCI on Wednesday, May 1, opened the application for its Suicide Prevention Fund grants, a $100,000 annual program that has distributed approximately $800,000 to 54 of Alaska’s nonprofits since 2016. The grant was established to address the critical challenge of suicide prevention, promote mental health, and support initiatives dedicated to lowering Alaska’s suicide rate, currently the third-highest in the nation.
“In addition to heartbreak for loved ones, suicides can have a tragic ripple effect across communities,” said Tiffany Vassar, GCI’s Senior Manager of Contributions and Events. “That’s why the GCI Suicide Prevention Fund focuses on community-based and focused organizations. Local knowledge and connections can have a big impact on prevention and can also support the healing process. We’re grateful for the opportunity to support the efforts of organizations statewide that are making a real impact with suicide prevention support programs.”
Each year, GCI works with The Alaska Community Foundation (ACF) to distribute $100,000 in grants to organizations that apply to fund suicide prevention programs in a diverse range of rural communities. In Wales, Norton Sound Health Corporation’s Behavioral Health Services Prevention team and Bering Strait School District used its 2023 grant funds to host a cultural week for the youth that included drum making, carving, traditional food preparations, and a community potluck.
“Youth and community members from Teller, Wales, and Golovin gathered to do a week full of cultural activities,” said Melissa Meadows from NSHC. “We gathered with the community to promote healing and bring the community together through drum making and dancing, jig stick making, traditional medicine preparation, and traditional foods preparation. It can be very difficult to find funds to purchase food, and the GCI Suicide Prevention grant makes it possible for us to purchase food for community events just like this.”
The Native Village of Scammon Bay started the Qungasvik: Toolbox, Reasons for Life project to connect youth with elders and experts as a way of preventing suicide and promoting resilience. Building this strong cultural network helps youth to develop a sense of pride and connect with their identity. Youth participate in subsistence activities, learn about surviving off the land, and help elders who are immobile or need additional assistance.
“With the ACF and GCI grant project, doing weekly activities with the youth gives them fresh air and rejuvenates their mental wellness to center their thoughts in a positive way,” shared Angelo Uttereyuk with the Native Village of Scammon Bay. “It gives meaning to life to do something selfless and meaningful. Providing for their elders is a priceless kind of act.”
Nonprofit organizations and equivalent organizations, which may include tribes, schools, churches, and local government agency programs working in the realm of mental health and suicide prevention, can apply for the GCI Suicide Prevention Fund on the ACF website now through June 14 at 5:00 p.m. https://alaskacf.org/funds/gci-suicide-prevention-fund/.
