Today marks World Mental Health Day, a global event that underscores the importance of mental health. But how does Alaska fare in this critical area? According to the Alaska Mental Health Trust Association's latest scorecard, the answer is not straightforward.
The scorecard delves into various factors influencing mental health, such as early childhood development, healthcare access, home life, finances, employment, and substance use. The data paints a mixed picture, with both encouraging signs and concerning trends.
For instance, there's good news for Alaska's youngest residents: the data shows a decrease in the number of children who can enter kindergarten or first grade with the ability to regulate their feelings and impulses 80% of the time or more. However, this progress is tempered by an alarming increase in chronic homelessness, which has spiked from 34.8 per 100,000 to 99.5 per 100,000. This rate nearly doubles the national average of chronic homelessness (42.7 per 100,000).
Yet, there are also positive changes worth noting. The employment of Alaskans with disabilities has increased, and the percentage of Alaskans living above 125% of the federal poverty level has also risen. Remarkably, both rates surpass their respective national counterparts, offering a glimmer of hope amidst the challenges.
However, these positive changes are overshadowed by the near tripling of homelessness in Alaska and an increase in alcohol-induced mortality (23.4 per 100,000 to 32.9 per 100,000), which exceeds the national rate of 12.3 per 100,000.
The data also shows a rise in the "percentage of Alaskans who received mental health services in the past year," increasing from 14.7% to 21.4%. This trend mirrors the scorecard's mixed results regarding self-harm/suicide rates. While the recent decrease in intentional self-harm/suicide attempt emergency department visits and the rate of intentional self-harm/suicide deaths for ages 15-24 is encouraging, these rates remain approximately double the national rates, and the overall rate of intentional self-harm/suicide deaths (age adjusted) has increased 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 that you are not alone, you are valuable, and you can get through this! You can read the full scorecard below, along with the Trust's detailed explanation of different factors affecting mental health (called "indicators") and various solutions and "strategies to mitigate the challenges the indicator highlights."
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