Our Division of Wellness and Prevention focuses on emotional, mental and cultural wellbeing within the continuum of health. Our services are rooted in understanding the importance of empowerment, responsibility and an early commitment to prevention and wellness. Our programs promote the development of core, transferable prevention and wellness skills. We aim to support community driven initiatives that are sustainable and resiliency based.
Wellness & Prevention Videos
Wellness & Prevention
Naloxone Request Form
If you live in the TCC region contact the Division of Wellness & Prevention via phone or email to request Narcan OR Complete the TCC Naloxone Request Form Survey online. A prevention staff will make contact to fulfill your request.
Our Services
The Community Wellness Program is home to our Community Health Representatives who advocate for prevention and health. The Community Health Representatives assist communities in supporting determined community needs, ranging from assisting in the work flow of the local clinic, activities for elder support, conducting evidence based suicide prevention trainings, and coordinating with the tribe in their local community garden.
The Division of Wellness and Prevention offers education and training for suicide prevention, health and safety, substance use prevention, and healthy relationships. We also offer technical assistance to Crisis and Wellness Response Teams, facilitation of community readiness assessments, postvention policy development and implementation, and tobacco policy development and implementation.
The Grief and Recovery Program offers services to provide hope and empowerment to our people and our communities while they are experiencing grief. Grief occurs when a person is experiencing a loss of any kind at some point in their life. Each person experiences grief differently and there is no one way to grieve. The Grief and Recovery Program offers talking circles, support groups, one on one grief sessions, grief and trauma awareness community presentations, and crisis response.
The Health and Safety program provides prevention education, awareness activities and resources to assist communities facing challenges in our region. These resources cover seasonal safety, travel safety, weather safety, and injury prevention.
The TCC Home Care Program has been servicing Interior Rural Alaskan Elders and Disabled Adults with pride since 1993. Qualifying Elders and Disabled Adults must live in a TCC region village and meet one or more of eligibility requirements. Home Care services include respite services, chore services, personal care services, waiver services and care coordination.
The Substance Abuse Prevention Program offers alcohol and drug information dissemination and prevention education on the nature and extent of substance use, abuse, and addiction as well as their effects on individuals, families, and communities. Program Staff work with communities to provide resources, information, and training to enhance protective factors, increase perceptions of risk and increase community wellness through the promotion of traditional values and practices.
Naloxone Request Form
If you live in the TCC region contact the Division of Wellness & Prevention via phone or email to request Narcan OR Complete the TCC Naloxone Request Form Survey online. A prevention staff will make contact to fulfill your request.
The Suicide Prevention Program offers training, crisis response and technical assistance to increase community capacity in the identification, prevention, and response to persons at risk for suicide. The Suicide Prevention Program also offers a wide variety of resources to provide education for a positive mental health.
The Tobacco Prevention Program offers services to reduce and ultimately eliminate tobacco use and exposure within the Interior of Alaska. Staff work to engage, educate, promote the Alaska Tobacco Quit-Line, and assist tribes with tribal policy development and implementation.
Program Offerings
Description: Suicide prevention training focused on recognizing the warning signs of suicide, learning how to offer hope, and knowing how to get help and save a life.
Time Commitment: One 1.5-hour training
Audience: Youth (14-18) or Adults (18+)
Contact: Tori Campbell, 907-452-8251 ext 3089, victoria.campbell@tananachiefs.org
Description: This workbook helps youth understand factors that shape their internal negative dialogue and learn how to replace these with positive thoughts and actions.
Time Commitment: Six 1-hour sessions or self-paced
Audience: Youth (14-18) and Adults (18-24)
Contact: Tori Campbell, 907-452-8251 ext 3089, victoria.campbell@tananachiefs.org
Description: Youth Mental Health First Aid is designed to teach parents, family members, caregivers, teachers, school staff, peers, neighbors, health and human services workers, and other caring citizens how to help an adolescent (ages 12-18) who is experiencing a mental health or addictions challenge or who is in crisis. YMHFA is primarily designed for adults who regularly interact with young people. The course introduces common mental health challenges for youth, reviews typical adolescent development, and teaches a 5-step action plan for how to help young people in both crisis and non-crisis situations. Topics covered include anxiety, depression, substance use, disorders in which psychosis may occur, disruptive behavior disorders (including AD/HD), and eating disorders.
Time Commitment: One 6-hour training
Audience: Adults (18+)
Contact: Tori Campbell, 907-452-8251 ext 3089, victoria.campbell@tananachiefs.org
Description: This important training teaches communities: 1) how to prevent access to things like firearms or medications during a suicidal crisis; 2) how to recognize someone who may be experiencing suicidal ideation; and 3) to understand the best practices for storing firearms and ammunition.
Time Commitment: One 1-hour training
Audience: Adults (18+)
Contact: Cole Cantu, 907-452-8251 ext 3420, cole.cantu@tananachiefs.org
Description: Doorway to a Sacred Place provides a model for people within Alaskan communities
to respond to traumatic events and help restore wellness in ways that incorporate local cultural
strategies and values through the implementation of talking and teaching circles.
Time Commitment: One 6-hour training
Audience: Adults (18+)
Contact: Rita Eaglehead, 907-452-8251 ext 3923, rita.eaglehead@tananachiefs.org
Description: This workshop identifies and equips key community members to obtain crisis skills
from QPR, CPR, CALM, various Talking Circle Trainings, personalized wellness knowledge and
activities for crisis volunteers to recharge, etc., and to develop individualized community-specific
strategic plans to competently respond to crisis events.
Time Commitment: Two 6-hour Training Days
Audience: Adults (18+)
Contact: Rita Eaglehead, 907-452-8251 x3923, rita.eaglehead@tananachiefs.org
Description: Give information on grief and be able to work through the difficult experience.
Present information on Trauma (historical or intergeneration trauma), and how unresolved grief
affects one’s life (substance abuse, suicide, domestic violence, abuse, other social problems).
Offer service to provide hope and empowerment to individuals and communities, while
experiencing grief. Having a talking circle and covering information, so individuals will have an
understanding of what they are feeling as they are grieving and able to move beyond a loss.
Time Commitment: 2 ½ hours or more depending on the capacity.
Audience: Adults (18+)
Contact: Roxanne Frank, 907-452-8251 x3581, roxanne.frank@tananachiefs.org
Description: Prevention toolkit aimed at providing awareness and information related to
substance misuse within the TCC region and how it impacts mental health, community wellness,
and lifestyle balance. With prior coordination, communities can select and/or adapt which
presentations suit their individual community needs – Over 20 presentations to choose from.
Time Commitment: 20 minutes for each presentation
Audience: Youth (14-18) and/or Adults (18+)
Contact: Leigh Smith, 907-452-8251 x2034, jocylynn.smith@tananachiefs.org
Description: This training was designed to provide comprehensive information with the goal to
create awareness and recognize (and reverse) an opioid overdose.
Time Commitment: One 15-minute training
Audience: Adults (18+)
Contact: Leigh Smith, 907-452-8251 x2034, jocylynn.smith@tananachiefs.org
Description: This course is designed to address the high rates of Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI) in
Alaska caused by All-Terrain Vehicles (ATVs). The course uses basic safety lessons and Science,
Technology, Engineering and Math activities, otherwise known as STEM, when getting ready to
ride an ATV. Students will learn how to apply lessons with activities, test their knowledge and
create a safety plan for riding an ATV.
Time Commitment: Five 1.5-hour Lessons
Audience: Youth (6-18)
Contact: Cole Cantu, 907-452-8251 x3420, cole.cantu@tananachiefs.org
Description: Skills taught through the curriculum include recognizing signs of hypothermia,
land survival, shelter building, using/creating outdoor emergency signals, selecting the right
personal flotation device (PFD), cold water survival, boating safety
Time Commitment: Five 1-hour lessons
Audience: Youth (6-18)
Contact: Cole Cantu, 907-452-8251 x3420, cole.cantu@tananachiefs.org
Description: This National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians (NAEMT) course is for
civilians with limited or no medical training who wish to learn life-saving bleeding control
techniques that can dramatically increase casualty survival. This course teaches participants basic life-saving medical interventions, including:
- Bleeding control with a tourniquet
- Bleeding control with gauze packs or topical hemostatic agents
Time Commitment: One 1- hour Training
Audience: Adults (18+)
Contact: Cole Cantu, 907-452-8251 x3420, cole.cantu@tananachiefs.org
Opioid Overdose Prevention
Some people may have experience with coming to the brink of an overdose. For them and their families it was most likely a very scary time in their lives when things got out of control. But as we learn more about opioids, we have learned that we can prevent an opioid overdose. The important thing is to be educated and
Focus on Healthy Family Time
School’s out, the kids are home, and families everywhere are preparing to celebrate the upcoming holidays—this is the perfect time for you to spend quality time with your family. Here are some useful tips on being purposeful and maximizing the gift of spending time together. BE PRESENT: We’re all bombarded with distractions—work, chores, phone calls, changing the car oil, and
Mind, Body, Soul Wellness & Prevention Healthy Living Event
Wellness and Prevention assisted in a new event to promote Healthy Living, called the Mind, Body, Soul event. It was a three day event from August 12-14, 2022 that took place in Galena. The Scavenger Hunt (Mind) included a Helmet Safety presentation and one of the tasks to do for the scavenger hunt, was to get head measurements to know what size helmet