Story last updated at 9/1/2010 - 12:10 pm
Over the course of the year, the SouthEast Alaska Regional Health Consortium (SEARHC) Yéil Jeeyáx Raven's Way adolescent residential substance abuse treatment center receives support from several organizations in Sitka. Raven's Way would like to thank five Sitka businesses for their support.
Absolute Fresh Seafoods and the Northern Southeast Regional Aquaculture Association (NSRAA) each provided the program with 200-300 pounds of fish, mostly salmon, which we served to our students here in Sitka and when they were at our camp on Biorka Island. This is good healthy traditional food and we appreciate having it available for our program.
Sitka Sound Seafood provided us with sweatshirts, which we used in our Biorka Store. During their stay at Raven's Way, our students participate in the Biorka Buck program, which provides Biorka Bucks for good behavior and at the end of their stay they can use the Biorka Bucks to buy items from the Biorka Store.
McDonald's and Subway provided us with gift cards for desserts and small sub sandwiches. We use the gift cards as prizes in another behavior improvement program that promotes clean language.
It is because of the support we receive from these five businesses and others in Sitka and Southeast Alaska that Raven's Way has become one of the most successful youth substance treatment programs in the country. We have served more than 1,000 students from more than 140 Alaska communities over the past 21 years, providing these students with a way to get a fresh start on their lives and become leaders in their communities.
Thank you for your support. We couldn't do it without you. Gunalchéesh. Háw'aa.
Rebecca Howe
Director, Yéil Jeeyáx Raven's Way Program, Sitka
