Ketchikan partnerships for success - the aim of ketchikan partnerships for success (k-PFS) project is to expand existing prevention infrastructure to deliver prevention programs and strategies to…

Ketchikan partnerships for success - the aim of ketchikan partnerships for success (k-PFS) project is to expand existing prevention infrastructure to deliver prevention programs and strategies to 1,253 kgbsd middle and high school students to achieve the following goals: goal 1: strengthen prevention capacity and infrastructure at the community level, and goal 2: reduce youth and adult substance misuse and related problems. The k-PFS project targets the children and youth of the ketchikan gateway borough school district, their families, and the community within which they live. The primary emphasis of the k-PFS project is given to middle and high school students and members of the ketchikan indian community which serves the tlingit, haida, and tsimshian people. The population of focus includes 2,100 students of whom 1,043 (49.7%) represent one or more underserved communities based on race and ethnicity. Additionally, 19.9% (418) of the student population are people with disabilities. The total population of focus to be served by the k-PFS project in underserved communities based on the student population alone is 1,253 or 60%. Ketchikan is on the southeastern coast of alaska on revillagigedo island along the inner passage or tongass narrows. The region is home to the southeast communities of alaskan indians; traditional homelands of the tlingit, haida, and tsimshian people and the worlds largest collection of totem poles. The current population estimates the target area at 13,950 residents. The three largest racial groups comprising 88% of the population include non-hispanic white at 53.7%, alaska native at 20.6%, and asian at 13.3% (most of whom are filipino, 10.3%); those identifying as two or more races represent 12.4% of the total population. (ACS, 2021.) ethnic minorities inclusive of the alaska native communities represent 40.7% of the population. The greater ketchikan community is geographically isolated from much of the state, not to mention the nation. In ketchikan, 12.4% of the total population live in poverty. Poverty among the alaska native population is more than double in ketchikan at 27.6% compared to the community as a whole and against the southeast alaska american indian/alaska native poverty rate at 22.8%. (ACS 5-year estimate, 2021). The ketchikan wellness coalition, INC. (lead agency) will facilitate implementation of each component of the SPF (assessment, capacity, planning, implementation, and evaluation) ensuring a high degree of cultural competence and probability for sustainability. The assessment step will begin with updating the existing community health needs assessment and epidemiology profile within the first 90 days along with a behavioral heath disparities impact statement. The updated epidemiology profile will provide more complete information on the origin and effect of substance misuse, addiction, and recovery in the ketchikan and saxman communities. In addition, the project will engage ketchikan gateway borough school district youth in GEO mapping and environmental scans to identify root causes of alcohol, marijuana, opioid misuse, and associated problem behaviors. This new information will be used to strengthen prevention capacity, build infrastructure, and leverage other funding streams and resources using coordinated outreach and messaging strategies.