Health & Well-Being
RurAL CAP addresses locally identified challenges through community wellness, youth development, tribal justice, and victim service initiatives. We deliver a variety of National Service, Wellness, and Training and Technical Assistance programs across the state.
National Service
We operate multiple AmeriCorps Programs in order to engage Alaskans, strengthen their communities, and foster civic engagement: the Elder Mentor Program (known nationally as the Foster Grandparent Program), the Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA) Program, and the Resilient Alaska Youth (RAY) AmeriCorps Program. In administering these programs, we also host partner organizations, helping them support their AmeriCorps members and volunteers.
Elder Mentor Program
Our Elder Mentor Program connects volunteers over age 55 with children in order to support academic engagement and school readiness statewide.
AmeriCorps VISTA Program
The AmeriCorps Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA) program places volunteers at nonprofit organizations and public agencies that strive to alleviate poverty. The VISTA members address community-identified challenges and build capacity at local service organizations.
RAY AmeriCorps Program
Through the Resilient Alaskan Youth (RAY) AmeriCorps program, local volunteers cultivate resiliency, supportive relationships, and positive cultural identities among youth in their community.
Wellness
Our Wellness programs support healthy lifestyles and provide substance abuse and suicide prevention through community education, support, and healing. These programs include the Youth Development and Culture Grant Program, Youth Tobacco Prevention Program, Sacred Beginnings, Hooper Bay Wellness Project, and the Rural Providers’ Conference.
Youth Development & Culture Grants
Youth Development and Culture Grants, a mini grant program, supports youth leadership and cultural activities in rural Alaska Native communities through a competitive Request for Proposals (RFP) solicitation.
Youth Tobacco Prevention
Working toward a tobacco-free Alaska, we engage with youth through the Youth Encouraging Alaskans’ Health (YEAH) Teen Ambassadors program. We support statewide organizations by providing Training and Technical Assistance to grantees of the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services Tobacco Prevention and Control.
Sacred Beginnings
The Sacred Beginnings Project works to increase Head Start families’ consumption of fruits and vegetables through various education opportunities. The project provides a hydroponic garden wall in each participating Head Start.
Hooper Bay Wellness Program
The Hooper Bay Wellness Project works to prevent substance abuse through locally-identified initiatives that increase community cohesion and resilience. The project uses an evidence-based process known as the Strategic Prevention Framework to assess needs, plan, build capacity, implement, and evaluate progress.
Rural Providers’ Conference
Rural Providers’ Conference (RPC) is an annual gathering hosted in partnership with local, regional, and statewide partners to unite traditional Alaska Native knowledge with modern frameworks to prevent alcohol and substance abuse and promote healing in culturally appropriate ways. This conference also includes activities centered on youth and tribal justice.