Two Alaska Native tribes on the Kenai Peninsula will receive approximately $1 million over the next five years to help address substance abuse and mental health disorders among Alaska Natives.

The Ninilchik Traditional Council and the Kenaitze Indian Tribe will both receive funds from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration for their services. The grants are part of the Native Connections program, which provides funds for tribal entities to provide education and services to prevent suicidal behavior and drug abuse, support trauma recovery and to promote good mental health among Alaska Native and American Indian youth younger than 25.

The Kenaitze tribe will receive $199,960 annually, and the Ninilchik Traditional Council will receive $200,000, according to SAMHSA’s grant list. Three years ago, the tribe participated in a partnership with the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium to do a survey about community perception of substance abuse and suicide among youth. The outreach will include community awareness events and line up with existing efforts, like awareness months, she said.

The Ninilchik Traditional Council has worked on developing its behavioral health and substance abuse services in the last five years. It also affects young Alaska Native adults more than the risk growing with age, the opposite trend of the general population, according to a 2011 analysis from SAMHSA.

Although the grant is going to the tribe and will be used Alaska Native youth, it will also benefit the community at large substance abuse and poor mental health are not confined to the tribal members, and overdoses and suicide affect everyone.