St. Paul Island Justice and Safety Project

Saint Paul Island is located in the middle of the Bering Sea, 300 miles from the Alaska mainland; 800 miles from Anchorage, the closest urban center; and 300 miles north of the Aleutian Chain. It is one of two inhabited islands in the Pribilof Islands.

In addition to being a remote, rural community, the community must deal with a number of risk factors which contribute to social problems, alcohol and substance abuse, domestic violence, and suicide on the Island. These include high rates of domestic violence, economic distress, depression and shrinking island population.

The Aleut Community of St. Paul Island will collaborate with the City of St. Paul Island and the Southcentral Foundation to develop, implement, and enhance programming for tribal members incarcerated or diverted to tribal or local correctional facilities or under community supervision to reduce their risks for reoffending and support successful rehabilitation by integrating risk and needs tools in the decision making process, reducing the number of American Indian/Alaska Native youth and adults with substance abuse issues in St. Paul Island through culturally appropriate treatment and supportive services.

This will be accomplished through the development and utilization of risk and needs assessment tools that address behavioral health needs and provide alternatives to incarceration. This project will serve both juveniles and adults who enter into a diversionary agreement. The City of St. Paul Island will provide support for the development and implementation of programming that increases officer safety and improves the delivery of law enforcement services through the use of equipment such as tasers, body cameras, computers, and a renovated detention facility that includes a safe room for those in crisis who should not be jailed.

Our collaboration with the South-Central Foundation will provide assistance for family members and those affected by alcohol abuse, substance abuse disorders, and suicide ideation because of historical trauma, through effective treatments such as cognitive behavioral therapy, education and vocational services, and through the support of culturally relevant and appropriate evidence-based prevention programs such as the ‘Healing of the Canoe’, that provides prevention, treatment and other programming that will reduce the risk for recidivism.