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Welcome to the latest edition of the Trust's quarterly newsletter! While summer in Alaska brings warmer temps and outdoor activities, it's also a busy season at the Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority and Trust Land Office!
Following extensive stakeholder engagement and programmatic reviews, staff at the Trust have been actively developing a draft FY27 budget. Each year, our board reviews and approves a budget that represents Trust spending and recommendations to support an integrated, comprehensive mental health program in Alaska. You can read more about our budget development process, including supporting materials, on our FY27 Budget Development Webpage.
In addition, our board of trustees recently had a great opportunity to engage with regional stakeholders during a positive and informative visit to Fairbanks for our May 2025 regular board meeting. In addition to meeting with partners and beneficiaries, our board had the opportunity to tour the Fort Knox Mine, operated by Kinross, near Fairbanks. Because the Trust owns a portion of the mineral interest in the Fort Knox mine, each year the Trust earns royalties on the mine’s gold production. Since the mine’s royalty payments began, Fort Knox has generated more than $28 million for the Trust.
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Fairbanks Crisis Now Coordinator Brenda McFarlane, Adult Services Director Sarah Koogle with Alaska Behavioral Health, and Dr. Kyle Dexter, Tanana Chiefs Conference Behavioral Health Aide Director, shared perspectives on community mental health needs and program successes with the board of trustees during our May board meeting in Fairbanks. Photo: Fairbanks News Miner.
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July is Disability Pride Month and the 35th Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act
July is not only Disability Pride Month, it also marks the 35th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, or ADA, a law designed to protect the rights of people with disabilities in America. ADA's goal was to ensure that all people with disabilities have the same opportunities as everyone else while prohibiting discrimination against them when it comes to jobs, school, public places, and beyond. The Trust is happy to join our partners and beneficiaries in celebrating this landmark law, and the impact it's had on Trust beneficiaries.
| | | | Behavioral Health Crisis Response Initiative Success Stories Featured in 2024 Implementation Report | |
In 2024, how many mobile crisis team responses took place? How many calls were answered by the Careline? You can find these metrics and more in the Trust's recently released Crisis Now 2024 annual Implementation Report, available on our behavioral health crisis response webpage.
In addition to data from 2024, the report also contains a training toolkit, and other great resources, including individual success stories from several Alaskan communities with new/improved crisis response services. One such story from Anchorage: the Anchorage Fire Dept. Mobile Crisis Team (MCT) responded to a call involving a woman in the midst of a manic episode. She was struggling to manage her medications and maintain a safe living space. MCT clinicians encouraged her to reconnect with her outpatient treatment providers, gave her a medication organizer and worked with her to set up a system for more easily tracking her prescriptions. Thanks to the collaborative efforts and follow-up she successfully reconnected with her care team and regained control of her medication routine. Several months later the MCT encountered her while responding to another call. She waved and expressed gratitude for the support she had received, sharing that she was feeling stable and doing well.
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The Trust Land Office's
Fall Land Sale Auction Will
Launch August 13!
The bid acceptance period for this year's Trust Land Office's (TLO) Fall Land Sale Auction will run from August 13 to November 3, 2025.
If you are looking for land for a cabin, house, business or investment, you'll want to visit our webpage to peruse the list of parcels planned for inclusion in this year's sale. On the webpage you can also review policies and procedures with more information about the auction and how to place a bid.
Starting on August 13, more details about each parcel including photos, maps, access information, and more will be available on the Fall Land Sale webpage. Like with other activities on Trust lands, all revenue generated from this year's sale helps to fund the Trust's work on behalf of beneficiaries across Alaska.
| | | | Bi-Weekly Grant Opportunity Report | |
Did you know that twice a month, the Trust posts a new Grant Opportunity Report on our Grant Proposal Development Resources webpage? In addition to serving as a grant-maker ourselves, the Trust also supports beneficiary-serving agencies in pursuing other grant funding.
The bi-weekly Opportunity Reports detail a curated list of grant funding opportunities, including forecasted opportunities, that intersect with Trust beneficiary populations. The reports are intended to serve as a resource for Trust partners. The latest report was posted on July 25, 2025 - go take a look!
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Meet April, a Trust
Community Partner
We love meeting with partners like Alzheimer's Resource of Alaska (ARA), an organization with a goal of supporting Alaskans affected by Alzheimer's disease, related dementias and other disabilities to ensure quality of life. It gives us the chance to get real insight into the important work they do for Trust beneficiaries and their families and caregivers.
During a recent visit, we had the chance to meet with members of ARA's team, including April, someone who offered us real insight into how crucial talking about the experiences of Trust beneficiaries can be. As April told us, "The more we talk about it, the more we can destigmatize mental health, and the more supportive people can and will be." It's her belief that "More understanding leads to better care and more caring," and that's a message our entire team at the Trust is happy to get behind.
| | | | The next deadline for Trust partnership grant applications is August 15, 2025! | | |
Upcoming Trust Meetings & Public Comment Opportunities | |
The next regular meeting of our board of trustees will be on August 27 and 28, 2025 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 serve them, you can also tune in to the meetings of our statutory partner boards, click on the links below for more information:
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Trust Microenterprise Grant Application Deadline: September 10, 2025
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. Resources to help put together an application are available!
Click here to learn more about Trust Microenterprise Grants
The next deadline for micro-enterprise applications is September 10, 2025.
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Grant Writing Training for Partners
Sept. 9-10, 2025
In addition to serving as a grant-maker ourselves, the Trust also supports beneficiary-serving agencies in pursuing other grant funding. We are offering grant writing training for Trust beneficiary-serving organizations through our proposal development support program; the next FREE training opportunity will take place virtually, Sept. 9-10, 2025.
Note, this training is not about how to apply for Mental Health Trust grants, rather it is intended to add to the skills of beneficiary-serving organizations to analyze and be better prepared to apply for all available grants that support the agency’s mission.
To learn more and to register, visit our grant proposal development resources webpage.
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