Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority, Rural Technical Assistance Coordination

Project Date: 2001 to present
Project Manager: Thea Agnew Bemben
Clients: The Foraker Group, Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority
Locations: Rural Alaska statewide

While funding needs for vital community services – particularly for vulnerable populations – is great in rural Alaska, geographic and cultural divides often prevent small communities from accessing resources. The Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority (AMHTA) is committed to reaching rural beneficiaries. To this end, the AMHTA has contracted with Agnew::Beck to provide ongoing assistance to rural organizations. Thea Agnew Bemben is the lead coordinator for this contract and is assisted by Beth McLaughlin and Melissa Rodriguez. They provide troubleshooting and ongoing assistance to help move rural projects to fruition and to increase access to funding resources.

Services provided through this project vary and are tailored to meet the needs of appropriate requests. These have included funding research and research on resources that will help to make a project successful; business planning and facility planning for new facilities such as (but not limited to) multi-purpose buildings and elder assisted living facilities; capital fundraising strategies and connecting rural entities with potential funders; and general troubleshooting.

While this contract does not allow the contractors to write grant proposals, they can assist in proposal development by mentoring an employee or volunteer through it, coordinating funding proposals, editing and providing feedback. Agnew::Beck can also advocate for particular projects to the Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority, to assist with accessing funds and getting feedback on how proposals can be strengthened. This contract has also been used to help communities create or revise comprehensive plans.

For the past two years, Agnew::Beck has also planned the Trusts's Rural Outreach Trip – communicating with visitors to villages and village hosts; coordinating travel and lodging; and helping to make the connection between rural residents and visiting policy makers as strong and enriching as possible.