The Anchorage Assembly recognized September as Suicide Prevention Awareness Month

The Anchorage Assembly recognized September as Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, in a resolution sponsored by Assembly Chair Anna Brawley and Mayor Suzanne LaFrance.

The region that includes Anchorage, along with the Matanuska-Susitna and Kenai Peninsula boroughs, has the highest number of suicide deaths among Alaska's regions, according to state vital records cited in the resolution.

Alaska's suicide rate remains near 30 deaths per 100,000 people, more than double the national rate. The state Department of Health reported 213 Alaskans died by suicide in 2023.

"Alaska's youth face the highest suicide rate in the nation," Sen. Elvi Gray-Jackson told a House Finance Committee hearing in April, citing a rate of 42.3 per 100,000 for ages 10 through 24. A state bulletin this month put the rate for Alaska Native youth ages 10 to 18 at 47 per 100,000, against 9 per 100,000 for White youth.

The Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority reports state suicide prevention funding has stayed flat or been reduced for decades. The Alaska Municipal League has urged permanent state funding for 988 and local crisis services.

The Assembly passed a similar resolution last September.

If you or someone you know is struggling, 988 is available by call or text, around the clock.