Below is VOA Alaska’s April 2024 Community Newsletter. To receive this newsletter and other updates directly to your inbox, sign up here.
VOA Alaska has expanded outpatient telehealth services to support young Alaskans and their families statewide with mental health, substance use, and co-occurring individual therapy! Family therapy and case management are also provided.
Eligibility: All Alaskans ages 11 to 24 are eligible to receive telehealth services with VOA Alaska. Family therapy is also offered to ensure caregivers and siblings are supported throughout treatment.
How to Get Started: Like all treatment services at VOA Alaska, telehealth begins with scheduling an assessment with our Client Care Team. Schedule an appointment today by phone at (907) 279-9640 or email at intake@voaak.org.
The assessment will determine if outpatient telehealth is the right level of care for the individual, and it will help our team determine if a more appropriate option may be located within their community.
Once telehealth is determined to be the right fit, our mental health clinician will begin working with the family for individual and family therapy and help identify what local supports are available.
Camp Hope is Back: Register Now!
Camp Hope is a NO COST prevention-led program that cultivates hope and healing for youth, particularly those at risk for substance use or behavioral health concerns. The camp offers a fun, immersive experience for youth to focus on Social Emotional Learning, which can be utilized at home, school, and for life success.
This summer, Camp Hope will be offered to youth in incoming grades 3-6 who are engaged in VOA Alaska services such as the Kinship Program, School-Based Services, or Outpatient Services. The camp will be held July 8-12 from 9:30 AM-4:30 PM at Begich Middle School. Youth will participate in field trips off-campus, with transportation provided. However, transportation to and from camp will not be provided; parents/ caregivers must arrange drop-off and pick-up.
Spaces are still available, so register today!
Go Blue for Child Abuse Prevention Month!
VOA Alaska was overjoyed to spend the afternoon in the community with other youth and family-serving organizations on April 5 for the second annual Go Blue Day Family Activity Fair! Thank you to everyone who stopped by the VOA Alaska table to learn about our resources and take part in our photo booth and frame-making activity.
Go Blue Day kicks off April’s Child Abuse Prevention Month nationwide. The Family Activity Fair was a collaboration of multiple organizations around the Anchorage community to connect families to available resources.
Special thanks to Alaska Children’s Trust for the mini-grant to support our activity at the event!
You’re Invited to Anchorage Youth Speak Out: Conversations about Underage Drinking
In case you missed our special email invite earlier this month, this Wednesday, April 24, is our next Anchorage Youth Speak Out event! Join us from 6:00 PM to 7:30 PM in person at the BP Energy Center or virtually to support our community’s youth as they share their experiences with underage alcohol consumption.
This event provides youth the opportunity to be a part of community-wide change by promoting awareness of underage drinking and by sharing challenges they and their peers have faced with alcohol.
Dinner will be provided, and there will be a prize drawing for those who attend!
Sponsor Shoutout: Alaska Children’s Trust
Thanks to the support of Alaska’s Children’s Trust, VOA Alaska recently provided culturally grounded activities for our youth to experience Alaska Native cultural connections and relationships.
For the youth in our programs who are experiencing substance use, mental health, and/or housing challenges, culture can serve as a foundation that builds resiliency, creates relationships, and strengthens their feelings of connection to the larger world.
Connection to culture is essential for young people as they develop and refine their identity in their core development years. VOA Alaska greatly appreciates the funding we received from the Alaska Children’s Trust to offer these unique activities to our youth.
