Project stakeholders cut a ribbon at the Nikiski Shelter of Hope on Friday, May 20, 2022, in Nikiski, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Project stakeholders cut a ribbon at the Nikiski Shelter of Hope on Friday, May 20, 2022, in Nikiski, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Peninsula organizations awarded mental health trust grants

Three organizations, in Seldovia, Seward and Soldotna, recently received funding from the Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority.

Three organizations located on the Kenai Peninsula recently received funding from the Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority, an April 12 press release announced. The Seldovia Village Tribe, the Seward Prevention Coalition and the Kenai Peninsula Homelessness Coalition each received a $50,000 grant in the third quarter of fiscal year 2025.

The Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority, according to the release, is a state corporation that operates like a private foundation to administer the perpetual Mental Health Trust to ensure that Alaska has a comprehensive mental health program. Trust beneficiaries include Alaskans who experience mental illness, developmental disabilities, substance-related disorders, Alzheimer’s and related dementia, and traumatic brain injuries. Fully self-funded, the trust is overseen by a seven-member board of trustees.

The Seldovia Village Tribe received a grant that will fund upgrades to community health care equipment. According to the quarterly grant report, SVT will use the funds to replace two outdated dental chairs that have been in use for 18 years.

ADVERTISEMENT
0 seconds of 0 secondsVolume 0%
Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts
00:00
00:00
00:00
 

“By upgrading dental equipment, SVT will improve patient comfort and access, particularly for individuals with mobility challenges. The new chairs will enhance patient experience and reduce the risk of ergonomic injuries among healthcare workers, supporting a healthier work environment,” the project description states.

SVT and the Rasmuson Foundation were listed as other funding partners for the project.

The grant awarded to the Seward Prevention Coalition will support a youth mental health stigma campaign targeting Seward, Moose Pass and Lowell Point to “educate parents about mental health conditions to support parental consent for youth access to mental health services,” according to the quarterly report.

“This project … will help ensure accurate identification and support of social-emotional needs for children and their families, congruent with their cultural identification,” the project description states. “The Seward Prevention Coalition believes that increased access to mental health services will decrease the need for parents to allow services only when the youth is in crisis, normalizing accessing mental health care.”

Other funding partners named for the project include Recover Alaska, SeaView Community Services, Seward Prevention Coalition, Seward Community Health Clinic, the Rasmuson Foundation, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Seward Community Foundation, the GCI Foundation and the Alaska Network for Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault.

Funds awarded to the Kenai Peninsula Homelessness Coalition will help to upgrade the Nikiski Shelter of Hope building. The shelter is a 12-room, 22-bed facility that provides emergency and transitional shelter to families and individuals experiencing homelessness. According to the grant report, the trust funds will “provide significant repairs and/or system replacements necessary to ensure the facility’s safe and sanitary operation.”

KPHC and the Rasmuson Foundation were also listed as funding partners.

Third-quarter grants totaling more than $2.1 million were awarded to 24 organizations located in Anchorage, Juneau, Bethel, Palmer and Kodiak, as well as the Kenai Peninsula. Trust grants are awarded year-round to support Alaska organizations, including nonprofits, service providers, tribal entities, and state and local government agencies, that serve Trust beneficiaries, the release states.

For more information, visit alaskamentalhealthtrust.org/about/grants/.

More in News

An angler holds up a dolly varden for a photograph on Wednesday, July 16. (Photo courtesy of Koby Etzwiler)
Anchor River opens up to Dollies, non-King salmon fishing

Steelhead and rainbow trout are still off limits and should not be removed from the water.

A photo provided by NTSB shows a single-engine Piper PA-18-150 Super Cub, that crashed shortly after takeoff in a mountainous area of southwestern Alaska, Sept. 12, 2023. The plane was weighed down by too much moose meat and faced drag from a set of antlers mounted on its right wing strut, federal investigators said on Tuesday.
Crash that killed husband of former congresswoman was overloaded with moose meat and antlers, NTSB says

The plane, a single-engine Piper PA-18-150 Super Cub, crashed shortly after takeoff in a mountainous area of southwestern Alaska on Sept. 12, 2023.

Armor rock from Sand Point is offloaded from a barge in the Kenai River in Kenai, Alaska, part of ongoing construction efforts for the Kenai River Bluff Stabilization Project on Wednesday, July 23, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Work continues on Kenai Bluff stabilization project

The wall has already taken shape over a broad swath of the affected area.

An aerial photo over Grewingk Glacier and Glacier Spit from May 2021 shows a mesodinium rubrum bloom to the left as contrasted with the normal ocean water of Kachemak Bay near Homer. (Photo courtesy of Stephanie Greer/Beryl Air)
KBNERR warns of potential harmful algal bloom in Kachemak Bay

Pseudo-nitzchia has been detected at bloom levels in Kachemak Bay since July 4.

Fresh-picked lettuces are for sale at the final Homer Farmers Market of the year on Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024, in Homer, Alaska. (Delcenia Cosman/Homer News)
USDA ends regional food program, pulls $6M from Alaska businesses

On July 15, the Alaska Food Policy Council was notified that the USDA had terminated the Regional Food Business Center Program “effective immediately.”

Exit Glacier is photographed on June 22, 2018. (Photo by Erin Thompson/Peninsula Clarion)
2 rescued by park service near Exit Glacier

The hikers were stranded in the “Exit Creek Prohibited Visitor Use Zone.”

Two new cars purchased by the Soldotna Senior Center to support its Meals on Wheels program are parked outside of the center in Soldotna, Alaska, on Wednesday, March 30, 2022. (Camille Botello/Peninsula Clarion)
State restores grant funding to Soldotna Senior Center

In recent years, the center has been drawing down its organizational reserves to provide some essential services.

A table used by parties to a case sits empty in Courtroom 4 of the Kenai Courthouse in Kenai, Alaska, on Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Former school district custodian pleads guilty to sexual abuse of a minor

Alexander Coxwell was arrested in September on allegations that he had engaged in an illegal sexual relationship with a then-14-year-old student.

Dick Hawkins speaks during a community meeting about the proposed Ninilchik Recreation Service Area at the Ninilchik Community Center in Ninilchik, Alaska, on Thursday, July 17, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Ninilchik residents consider creation of service area to fund pool

The Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly on Aug. 5 will consider an ordinance that would create the service area if it is approved by voters.

Most Read

You're browsing in private mode.
Please sign in or subscribe to continue reading articles in this mode.

Peninsula Clarion relies on subscription revenue to provide local content for our readers.

Subscribe

Already a subscriber? Please sign in