WHEREAS, Tanana Chiefs Conference (TCC) is an Alaska Native tribal health and social services consortium established by the Interior Alaska tribes and tribal communities, to provide a unified voice in advancing sovereign tribal governments through the promotion of physical and mental wellness, education, socioeconomic development and culture of the Interior Alaska Native; and
WHEREAS, In Alaska, there is no state-wide 911 response system for immediate assistance. There is no local and/or state-wide toll free hotline for a person that is being victimized from domestic violence and/or sexual assault within the State of Alaska; and
WHEREAS, Alaska has the third-highest intimate partner violence against women lifetime prevalence in the United States. 43.3% of Alaska women and 30.2% of Alaska men experience intimate partner violence in their lifetimes; and
WHEREAS, Alaska has the largest Native population as a percent of total population in the United States, and more than 84% of American Indian/Alaska Native women experience violence during their lifetimes; and
WHEREAS, Many tribal communities are geographically isolated and/or long distances from the nearest Trooper Post or Hospital, making all resources/services more challenging to access during an emergency. Response to rural villages can take days during adverse travel times; and
WHEREAS, The National Domestic Violence Hotline reported that despite the high rates of violence experienced by AI/AN persons, only a small percentage reached out for assistance to the national hotline number; and
WHEREAS, The National Hotline partnered with the National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center, to develop a program for a Native hotline developed and run by Native advocates to support tribal communities across the United States. In 2019, Administration on Children, Youth, and Families and stakeholders made that possible with the creation of the StrongHearts Native Helpline; and
WHEREAS, StrongHearts is a culturally-appropriate, anonymous, confidential service dedicated to service AI/AN survivors of domestic violence and concerned family members and friends. By dialing 1-844-7NATIVE, available daily from 4am to 7pm AKST; and
WHEREAS, The tribal communities would strongly benefit from developing a formal partnership with StrongHearts to include accurate and culturally relevant programs/resources to the StrongHearts Referral Database, and promoting the hotline Regionally and Statewide; and
WHEREAS, Survivors of intimate partner violence need and deserve hotline advocates that can answer their calls 24/7, 365 days a year. Alaska has the highest homicide rate for female victims killed by a male perpetrator in the Nation and 65% of all murder-suicides involve an intimate partner.
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Tanana Chiefs Conference Full Board of Directors direct TCC to coordinate a formal partnership between the Tribes in the Region and StrongHearts Native Hotline to improve Alaska Native victims access to safety and services; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Tanana Chiefs Conference Full Board of Directors encourages TCC to apply for funding and create a position and/or partner with our Interior Alaska Native organization to retain Hotline Advocate positions that could partner with StrongHearts and answer Alaska based calls 24/7, 365 days a year.
Submitted by: Healy Lake Village Council
Updates
Below are articles that relate to this resolution. If nothing is shown below, then there are no updates published yet.