Programs

With an estimated 75% of adult mental health problems developing before the age of 25, early and effective intervention is critical for a child’s future physical and emotional health. Volunteers of America Alaska works to fill in some of the resource gaps in Alaska.

Author Dan Millman's first book, The Way Of The Peaceful Warrior, introduced the idea that the moment is all that really exists and that the quality of our moments become the quality of our lives. Millman's new book explains how people can use the “peaceful warrior way” to transform their lives. 

Difficulty sleeping has affected all of us at one time or another. Lack of sleep or inadequate sleep can have drastic consequences for our day to day functioning as well as our overall health and happiness.

In "Making Your Crazy Work for You," the authors explain that by confronting and understanding the root causes of our unhelpful behavior, we can learn how to embrace healthy and fulfilling relationships with ourselves and others.

On the next installment of Alaska Public Media's Talk to your Neighbor series, members of the Alaska Coalition of BIPOC Educators discuss how they're getting the word out about vaccination in schools and in the community. 

Have you ever wondered if your bowel movements are normal? Is it too soft? Too hard? A weird color? Is it painful? We'll discuss bowel movements, irritable bowel syndrome, inflammatory bowel disease and colon cancer.

Childhood chronic illness affects 40% of school-aged children and adolescents. Nutrition, movement, environmental toxins and genetics play a role in this progression.

Alaska’s COVID case rate appears to be improving, but omicron remains a concern for  vulnerable populations in and outside of Anchorage.

Health issues related to homelessness include frostbite, injuries from violence and mental health problems. How does sheltering and medical treatment of the homeless population impact outcomes?

Overdose deaths from fentanyl are on the rise in Alaska, and its important to remember that the statistics account for more than just one person.

In order to make decisions and judgements, the human mind uses cognitive shortcuts. Dr. Michael Scheeringa, author of “The Trouble With Trauma: The Search To Discover How Beliefs Become Facts", explores why that's an issue.

Motherhood is an amazing and incredibly challenging time, but few people talk about the emotional and psychological transition.

The idea of cults seems to both fascinate and scare us. Why do intelligent people often give up everything to blindly follow these leaders and their ideologies?

Across our community, Alaskans are trying to navigate the new realities brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. Conversations about masking, vaccines, and whether to return to work and school can trigger strong feelings and in some cases have resulted in strained friendships and divided families. These conversations mimic the political divide and frequently devolve into defensiveness, contempt, criticism, and hurt feelings. These high conflict conversations do nothing to improve public health and are tearing at the foundations of our community and the sense of unity we take pride in as Alaskans.

During Child Abuse Prevention Month, Dan Bigley joins Prentiss Pemberton to discuss what is being done to prevent child abuse before it happens and what can be done to help children who have experienced abuse in their lives.

David Livingstone Smith believes dehumanizing others is rooted in human psychology and leaves us vulnerable to leaders who trade in the politics of demonization and violence.

More than two years into the pandemic, vaccines are widely available and most health measures have been lifted. But there are still Alaskans who have difficulty accessing vaccines or who have continued health risk in spite of them.

Most people believe they are too smart and too independently-minded to fall prey to the charms of a cultic leader or to blindly follow a belief system, yet many people do.

Because chronic pain in children is a unique combination of biological, psychological and social factors in each child, the source of chronic pain can be complex.

The Alaska Center For The Blind And Visually Impaired discusses the myths and misconceptions about blindness, what life in Alaska is like for the visually impaired and the support and resources that are available.