Yeshjesh T’uh: A Safe Place for Healing and Hope

By Senior Marketing Specialist Emma Irish

Construction is underway at Southcentral Foundation’s new behavioral health facility on the corner of Tudor and Elmore Roads.

Southcentral Foundation is committed to supporting community-wide physical, mental, and emotional wellness with the development of Yeshjesh T’uh, a facility that brings hope to people most in need of culturally sensitive, compassionate care. SCF, led by the voice of Alaska Native people, is ready to stand with customer-owners during difficult times including when community members struggle with depression, risk of suicide, addiction, and harms from trauma. SCF understands the importance of accessible mental health support. This building will help reduce wait times and ensure that services reflect and respect the unique values and experiences of Alaska Native peoples.

To address critical gaps in care, SCF is building a new facility designed to meet the community’s most immediate behavioral health needs. This state-of-the-art center will provide compassionate, trauma informed and culturally sensitive services for individuals in crisis and individuals seeking recovery.

The new facility is named Yeshjesh T’uh, which means I am safe place in Dena’ina Athabascan. Scheduled to open in 2026, it will span 100,000 square feet and sit prominently at the intersection of Tudor and Elmore Roads in Anchorage. More than just a building, Yeshjesh T’uh is a commitment to healing. The building and programs housed within are designed to serve as a welcoming environment where people can feel safe, supported, and encouraged to take the next steps toward wellness.

Key features of Yeshjesh T’uh will include:

• Adult Crisis Stabilization Center (16 chairs): A short-term clinical service, providing 24/7 same day walk-in access and first responder drop offs for individuals experiencing a mental health or substance use crisis. The focus of this program is immediate assessment, stabilization, medication management, case management and plans developed for discharge to a higher or lower level of care. This 23-hour facility will offer immediate support in a calm, home-like setting. Its goal is to prevent unnecessary emergency room visits and provide a bridge to ongoing care.
• Expanded Withdrawal Management (30 beds): The SCF Detox program will relocate to Yeshjesh T’uh, increasing its capacity and enhancing services with 24-hour medical supervision and medication-assisted treatment to support people withdrawing from substances safely. Services are offered to all members of the community, statewide.
• Outpatient Behavioral Health Services: Provides specialty mental health services for customer-owners who need medication management, increased community case management, and same-day access to additional support. This service ensures continuity of care for individuals transitioning from crisis services and aims to support long-term wellness and recovery.
• Adult Crisis Residential Program: Individuals who need more support to stabilize can transition to this 16-bed residential program for further observation, assessment, and treatment. This program builds upon the work started in crisis stabilization and care teams refine the treatment plan to support individuals transitioning back to the community as quickly as possible. Access to this program will be through the crisis stabilization center or through referrals from other Tribal Health Organizations.

Architectural rendering of completed Yeshjesh T’uh building.

The development of this facility aligns with the national Crisis Now model, which emphasizes a coordinated response to behavioral health emergencies. This includes offering 24/7 access to care, ensuring people in crisis receive help quickly in the least restrictive setting possible, and engaging in peer support to foster hope and connection.

“Implementation of a behavioral health crisis system of care means people experiencing a right now behavioral health crisis get the right care, in the right setting, when they need it,” Michelle Baker, SCF executive vice president for Behavioral Services said. “Each program within this building will work together seamlessly, to ensure individuals receive the right level of care at the right time while supporting the broader behavioral health and substance use continuum.”

Yeshjesh T’uh represents a major step forward in building a more compassionate and responsive behavioral health system in Alaska. By investing in places of healing like this one, our community moves closer to a future where no one has to face a mental health or substance use crisis alone — and where every individual will have the opportunity to feel safe and supported.