Gathering explores suicide prevention solutions

March 27, 2018

Tribal organizations and mental health practitioners from across Alaska will meet with university researchers to discuss culturally relevant strategies to prevent suicides April 3-4 at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. The event is expected to draw more than 100 people from across Alaska.

The first Statewide Gathering to Celebrate and Support Community Strengths will be hosted by UAF’s Alaska Native Collaborative Hub for Research on Resilience.

“This gathering brings together agencies and individuals who are promoting positive change and well-being for all Alaskans,” said Carol Murphrey, ANCHRR’s outreach coordinator. “Through sharing our stories of strength and success, we can learn from each other what culturally relevant strategies are working to help prevent suicides.”

ANCHRR partners in the event are Kawerak's Northwest Alaska Wellness Initiative and the First Alaskans Institute. Other UAF sponsors include the Institute of Arctic Biology, Center for Alaska Native Health Research and College of Rural and Community Development.

Working sessions and group discussions at the gathering will focus on creating new partnerships, community-driven research, practical ways to increase well-being and community strengths as a suicide prevention strategy. The gathering is expected to be an annual event.

The ANCHRR hub was established last summer with a $4.25 million grant. The five-year grant was one of three awarded nationwide by the National Institutes of Health. Principal researchers include Stacy Rasmus, a research associate professor at UAF's IAB; James Allen, a professor at the University of Minnesota Medical School; and Lisa M. Wexler, an associate professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst School of Public Health and Health Sciences. They have decades of experience researching the effectiveness of community and culturally based solutions for suicide prevention.

“By focusing practical solutions, we can transform despair into hope and healing," said Rasmus. “The Alaska Native Collaborative Hub for Research on Resilience is the first time that researchers have looked at statewide and collective efforts to reduce Alaska Native youth suicide risk.”

For more information about ANCHRR or the Statewide Gathering to Celebrate and Support Community Strengths, visit https://www.anchrr.org , or contact Carol Murphrey at 907-474-7659.