Celebrating 30 Years of the Trust | |
Welcome to our latest newsletter! We're starting things off with some big Trust news: 2024 marks the 30th anniversary of the inception of the Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority!
Unique in the nation, the Trust has used its land and financial resources to provide leadership in the advocacy, planning, implementing, and funding of services and programs for Trust beneficiaries for the past 3 decades. It's something we couldn't do alone, so we want to take this opportunity to thank the hundreds of organizations we have partnered with over the years for applying their efforts and expertise to making Alaska a better place for beneficiaries to call home. We have made significant progress together, and we're excited to carry that momentum forward for Trust beneficiaries in the future.
This 30th year for the Trust also brings a leadership transition to the Trust. After close to 20 years with the organization, our CEO Steve Williams has departed. Trustees and staff appreciate Steve's commitment to the Trust; his contributions to Trust initiatives will have lasting impacts on our system of care for beneficiaries. Our board of trustees is currently engaged in the process of hiring a new CEO, and Trust Chief Communications Officer Allison Biastock is serving as Acting CEO until a replacement is selected. We look forward to sharing the news of a new CEO when the hiring process has concluded!
| | |
Trust Land Office Executes Lease Agreement for a New Solar Energy Project on the Kenai Peninsula | |
Our team at the Trust Land Office (TLO) has finalized its first renewable energy project ground lease, diversifying our portfolio of energy projects on Trust lands. The lease is with Renewable IPP, LLC., an organization that's putting together a solar energy project on 680 acres of Trust land near Nikiski. It's an exciting opportunity, one that proposes to generate 28.5 megawatts of cost-competitive energy to interconnect with the Homer Electric Association utility. This solar energy project represents an opportunity to generate approximately $3.3 million in royalty payments for the Trust and its beneficiaries in the first lease. This project further incentivizes solar power generation on adjacent Trust lands with the option for a second lease, providing the opportunity to develop a second phase of the project for an increased return. We're excited to be engaged in Alaska's renewable energy market, and for the potential benefits this project brings to the Trust and its beneficiaries.
| | | |
Grant Highlight: Behavioral Health Crisis Response Collaboration on the Kenai Peninsula | |
The Trust recently approved a $75,000 grant to Central Peninsula General Hospital to support the development of a system of behavioral health crisis response care (Crisis Now) on the Kenai Peninsula. Trust beneficiaries in the region needing crisis care currently have to travel to Anchorage for behavioral health crisis services, but project proponents want to serve those experiencing a behavioral health crisis outside of the existing hospital emergency room with the following behavioral health crisis response: call center support, mobile crisis teams, and crisis stabilization services. This Trust grant supports planning a crisis system response, business modeling, and site visits that show how this model works in the region to fidelity of the national Crisis Now best practice model. This project has the support of hospital leadership, local officials, and many key crisis response stakeholders in the region.
| | |
Our Annual Fall Land Sale is Coming Soon - Preview Available Parcels on Our Website!
The Trust Land Office's 2024 Competitive Fall Land Sale Auction will begin on August 21, with bids due by November 4, 2024. This year's sale includes parcels of Trust lands in southeast, southcentral, and interior Alaska, and the revenue generated will help fund the Trust's work on behalf of beneficiaries.
Want to get a look at which parcels will be available for bid? For the first time, a preliminary list of the 55 available parcels that are planned for inclusion in the sale has been posted online in advance! This year's anticipated inventory includes parcels in/near Delta Junction, Big Lake, Nikiski, Petersburg, Ketchikan, Wrangell, Ester, and more. Visit our Fall Land Sale webpage to see the preliminary parcel list and for more information about the sale.
| | | |
The Concussion Legacy Foundation's Concussion Guidebook is Now Available | |
The 2024 edition of the Concussion Legacy Foundation's (CLF) Concussion Guidebook for Alaskan Patients and Caregivers is now available. The CLF, a partner and grantee, developed this guide with the Brain Injury Council of Alaska. Beyond helping fund the guide, our team reviewed the guide in conjunction with those two partners.
Awareness and education of brain injury is one of the purposes of the Brain Injury Council, and a point of emphasis for our team at the Trust as well, as Alaskans who experience traumatic brain injuries are beneficiaries of the Trust.
If you would like to read the Guidebook, you can find a link to it below. But if you're interested in printing copies of the guidebook, you can find the print version of the guidebook here.
| | |
Meet Dave, a Trust Beneficiary
We had the opportunity to meet Trust beneficiaries and community partners on a recent trip to visit the team at Mat-Su Health Services, a Trust partner in the Valley. One person we learned a lot from was Dave, a Trust beneficiary who works with the organization. Dave talked with our team about his experiences, and shared perspective on addressing physical and mental health conditions. According to Dave, "Mental and physical problems can manifest simultaneously, which is not easy. You're living with it and you may not be aware of it for a number of years until you realize, 'Oh, I actually have this problem, and now that I know, I need to start figuring out how to function better without assistance.''
We are grateful to Dave, Mat-Su Health Services, and all our partners who shared their experience with us to help increase awareness of the challenges Trust beneficiaries face, and address mental health related stigma.
| | | |
Registration is Open for the Trust Improving Lives Conference - September 17-18, 2024 | |
The Improving Lives Conference, the Trust's conference that explores the advocacy, planning, implementation, and funding of services and programs that improve the lives and circumstances of Trust beneficiaries, is coming soon! This ye Those themes are:
- Empowering Beneficiaries Through Self-Direction, Employment, Access to Care, and Advocacy
- Partnership and Integration as Pathways to Success
- Building Strength Through the Community-Based Service Model
Mark your calendars for the Improving Lives conference this September 17-18, 2024 which will be held at the Denai'na Convention Center in Anchorage. To learn more about the conference and register for the event, make sure to visit the Improving Lives Conference's website.
| | | |
Behavioral Health Crisis Response Update
Want to see the exciting changes being made around the state when it comes to behavioral health crisis response systems? The latest implementation update is now up on our website, and it showcases our work with the State and partners to improve our behavioral health crisis system of care in Alaska. These brief reports look at updates by community, as well as system-wide news. The June edition also includes training resources, and a synopsis of a crisis-focused stakeholder convening held this spring.
|
|
The Board of Trustees has committee meetings and a full board meeting on the horizon. Up first are Trust board committee meetings which are being held in Anchorage this week on July 30 and 31, while the next regular meeting of our board of trustees will be on August 28 and 29, 2024, also in Anchorage.
All regular board meetings include an opportunity for public comments, which can be provided in person, virtually, or in writing. We'd love to hear from you.
Visit our website for more information about upcoming trustee board and committee meetings.
To stay up-to-date on issues important to Trust beneficiaries and those who care for them, you can also tune in to the meetings of our statutory partner boards, click on the links below for more information:
|
|
Corri Feige Appointed to the Board of Trustees | |
The Trust welcomes Corri Feige, who was recently appointed by Governor Mike Dunleavy to the Board of Trustees.
Trustee Feige is a resident of Chickaloon and has more than thirty years of experience in the natural resources industry, including serving as the Commissioner of the Alaska Department of Natural Resources from 2018 to 2022. A geophysicist and engineer, she brings extensive knowledge of the mining, oil and gas, and energy development sectors, as well as experience as a project manager, executive business leader, and board member of the Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation to the Trust.
We look forward to working with Trustee Feige to advance the mission of the Trust.
Microenterprise Grant Application Deadline: September 11, 2024
The Trust funds the micro-enterprise grant program that supports self-employment opportunities for beneficiaries. We work in partnership with the UAA Center for Human Development, which administers the program.
Beneficiaries can apply for a microenterprise grant for starting a new business, expanding a current business, or acquiring an existing business.
The next deadline for microenterprise grant applications is coming up on September 11, 2024.
|
| |
Our Fourth Quarter Grant Report is Now Available
In the last fiscal quarter, the Trust awarded 14 grants to organizations from around the state that serve and support individuals who belong to one or more of our beneficiary groups. Our recently released grant report includes details about each project and initiative awarded grant funding in the last fiscal quarter. You can find this and past quarterly grant reports on our website.
| | | | | | |
