Mat-Su groups get $1.1million in grants

WASILLA — Five local organizations have received Mat-Su Health Foundation grants totaling more than $1.1 million. Healthy Impact grant recipients this cycle are the Alaska Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired; Co-Occurring Disorders Institute; Mat-Su Borough; Mat-Su Health Services; and the University of Alaska.

The grants fund projects over $15,000 that improve the health and wellness of people living in the Mat-Su Borough.

Recipients are:

• Alaska Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired was awarded $133,000 over five years to support its Mat-Su Health Access Project. The funding will allow the center to expand its services to the smaller, more remote parts of the Mat-Su, and to increase low vision clinics, expand its home visiting program, increase peer support groups, and begin technology fairs.

• Co-Existing Orders Institute will receive $290,000 over three years to re-launch its Strengthening Families Treatment Program, a 14-session, evidence-based training program focused on parenting skills, children’s social skills, and family life skills specifically designed for high-risk families with children ages 3 to 10 years old. This program will be unique in the Mat-Su Borough as it will offer families with children in this age range behavioral health treatment services during the time parents are receiving parenting education.

• Mat-Su Borough will receive $390,000 to light 2.5 miles of Nordic ski trails at the Government Peak Recreation Area near Hatcher Pass. Lighted trails will increase safety on these trails.

• Mat-Su Health Services was awarded $100,501 to support a project to improve the effectiveness of treatment of depression and anxiety in the primary care setting. Mat-Su Health Services provides both primary and behavioral healthcare to the uninsured and underinsured residents of the Mat-Su Borough. Integration of primary and behavioral health care for those who need behavioral health services results in the highest quality of care.

• The University of Alaska was awarded $235,600 over two years to provide “Screening, Brief Intervention and Referral to Treatment” training to staff at Sunshine Community Health Center, Mat-Su Health Services, and Solstice Family Medicine. The training focuses on early identification and intervention for substance misuse, thereby reducing its health consequences. And it allows for evaluation of the training effort and the sharing of lessons learned with other Mat-Su health providers.