Today is World Mental Health Day. So, how is Alaska doing with mental health? According to the Alaska Mental Health Trust Association’s most recent scorecard, the answer is far from simple. The scorecard lists numerous factors that impact mental health such as early childhood development, healthcare access, home life, finances, employment, and substance use. Much of the data reveals both good news and bad news regarding these different factors.
Bad News for Early Childhood Development; Good News for Children’s Homelife
The Trust’s data shows a decrease in Alaskan children who can enter kindergarten or first grade with the ability to “regulate their feelings and impulses 80% of the time or more.” On the bright side, the data also shows that the rate of child maltreatment has decreased!
Thumbs Down for Homelessness; Thumbs Up for Employment and Financial Status
The rate of chronic homelessness in AK has spiked from 34.8 per 100,000 to 99.5 per 100,000. This is nearly double the national rate of chronic homelessness (42.7 per 100,000). However, the data also shows that the employment of Alaskans with disabilities has increased, and the percentage of Alaskans living above 125% of the federal poverty level has also increased. Not only have both rates increased for Alaska, but they are now higher than the respective national rates! These positive changes stand in harsh contrast to the near tripling of homelessness in Alaska.
Prayers for Alcoholics; Hooray for Access to Mental Health Services
The rate of alcohol-induced mortality has gone up (23.4 per 100,000 to 32.9 per 100,000) and exceeded the national rate of 12.3 per 100,000. At the same time, the “percentage of Alaskans who received mental health services in the past year” increased from 14.7% to 21.4%.
Cling to Hope, Make Each Tomorrow Better
Similarly, the scorecard shows mixed results regarding self-harm/ suicide rates. The “rate of intentional self-harm/suicide attempt emergency department visits” as well as the rate of intentional self-harm/suicide deaths for ages 15-24 have decreased. Although the recent decrease is great news for Alaska, the rates remain approximately double the national rates and the overall rate of intentional self-harm/suicide deaths (age adjusted) shows an increase in recent years.
IF YOU OR A LOVED ONE IS EXPERIENCING A MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS, PLEASE CALL 988 (Suicide and Crisis Lifeline) OR 911 IMMEDIATELY. The author of this article wants you to know you are not alone, you are valuable, and you can get through this!
You can read the full scorecard below plus the Trust’s detailed explanation of different factors affecting mental health (which they call “indicators”) and various solutions and “strategies to mitigate the challenges the indicator highlights.”
Natalie Spaulding, a 2025 Hillsdale College graduate, recently joined the Must Read Alaska Team.
Homeless, AKA Bums who would rather live off others charity and taxes of those who choose to get up and go to work.
I was one of the attorneys who sued the state for stealing the one million acres of land granted in trust to Alaska for its mental health program, which resulted in the creation of the Alaska Mental Health Authority (Trust). Initially, they had the proper orientation of evaluating what they did by considering whether it improved the lives of their beneficiaries. No more. The Trust has lost its way.
Alaska’s mental health program should adopt the recommendations in this White Papers. https://psychrights.org/whitepaper.pdf
A large mental Health facility is being completed right now across from the ANMC Campus.
Great location imo.
Hope they fill it up & start helping some of these head cases (as we used to call them)
Rep. Andy Josephson was reportedly given an award for securing $20 million in mental health funding — yet we’re told it won’t increase patient access or throughput. Just more government spending, no more care… and it came from our PFD. Alaskans deserve transparency