The Healthy Alaska Native Foundation’s Mindy Schloss Memorial Fund provides support for activities specifically directed toward reducing the number of suicides in Alaska. The fund honors Mindy Schloss, a nurse psychologist who dedicated herself to serving Alaska Natives in rural communities. At the time of her tragic murder in 2007, she had improved the lives of countless people throughout Alaska over a twenty-year career and was in the process of building a nurse psychologist practice in Anchorage. Her family donated the initial $25,000 with hopes that others will join them in building a long-term, sustainable fund that will continue Mindy’s work in her absence.

According to a report by Alaska state health officials, the average suicide rate of Alaska Natives is more than two times higher than non-Natives. On average, an Alaska Native person commits suicide every eight days. The Foundation supports our ANTHC Behavioral Health department, whose dedicated staff are working hard in every part of Alaska to change these dreadful statistics through suicide prevention, substance abuse prevention, domestic violence prevention, certification of Behavioral Health Aides located throughout rural Alaska, and support for statewide behavioral health services delivery.

With your help through the Mindy Schloss Memorial Fund for Suicide Prevention, we can save promising lives and achieve our goal of inspiring good health among Alaska Native people.