Initial Report and Recommendations - Alaska Department of Law

“[W]e’re 10 times the national average for suicide and over 20 times the nationalaverage in teenage suicide. And our region here leads the State of Alaska. . . . There’snothing more heartbreaking for me as a physician, or for caregivers at the hospital, or infact for anyone to see, [than] one of our youth taking their own life or do[ing] somethingto cut down such a promis[ing] future . . . .“Almost all, not all, but almost all of these suicides attempts and suicide successesare while under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs. . . . It’s very rare that we get asuicide attempt where alcohol is not involved. It’s also very rare that we get domesticviolence, child abuse, incest, [or] rape where alcohol is not involved. . . .“[W]ithin the last several years [the Alaska State Troopers have] been doing a lotmore search and seizures at the point of entry. . . . The airlines have the ability now tocontact the Troopers if they think that alcohol is being imported into a place where that’sagainst the law, and that is working.“I think 60 percent of all of our health care dollars could be used for something else,if . . . we did away with all alcohol and tobacco. I have no numbers to back that up. Butnumbers that I do have . . . [are] that between 30 percent to 40 percent of all of ourpatients seen in the emergency room are directly related to alcohol use; 30 percent to 40percent of just the emergency room visits. . . . [B]etween 50 percent to 60 percent of alladmissions to the [Norton Sound Health Corporation’s] hospital were directly related toalcohol use.David Head, M.D., Chief of StaffNorton Sound Health Corporation“The current situation is that we seem to have a continuous role modeling ofdomestic violence, neglect and abuse. . . . There’s a great need; it’s big and it continuesto grow. Two, there’s a lack of education and funds [to address abuse]. And while wewait, domestic violence, neglect and abuse rages on. The youth and those who needprotection continue to receive devastation in their lives. And three, we need to break thesilence that shame, pain and fear has created because [of] domestic violence, neglect andabuse in the past and up until now. This is stored up in our hearts and causes us to reactin defensive and survival methods. And then bringing back safety and teaching along withpersonal stories gives us the strength to visit the impacted places that hold us captives ofthe past; being free from the past. . . . And then the fourth was, how would we like to seeour community: to see our communities throughout Alaska free of domestic violence,neglect and abuse, to see them enjoying healthy family relationships and the childrenreflecting wellness by playing and enjoying childhood, the community working togetherto support each other.”Tobias ShugakFamily Wellness Warriors InitiativeSouthcentral Foundation“This problem is all over the world, I think. . . . The liquor flows into Bethel herefrom Anchorage. And Bethel is voted dry—[there are] not supposed to be any bottles;only in the house. But the bottle walks out from the house all over. . . . One of the guys[from a neighboring village] told me that every time the snow machine trail is open,liquor’s open. It goes out to the villages. So I’ve been trying to find somebody to talk toso it can be solved. It could be solved, I think. There’s a way. But we need help. . . .Thebooze is killing the life. I think the life is more important than the booze.”Billy McCann, BethelAlaska Rural Justice and Law Enforcement Commission - Page 17