Wednesday night's meeting of the Bethel Alcohol Task Force was well-attended, as a packed room of city council members, political leaders, and public health professionals looked for ways to cope with Bethel’s high rates of alcoholism.
Public Health Nurse Donna Bean organized an impromptu brainstorming session to help the Task Force approach alcohol issues strategically. Residents used a planning process known as Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) Analysis; City Clerk Lori Strickler handed Mayor Rick Robb a large sheet of paper, and residents called out Bethel's many strengths. It made for a long list, but so did the community's weaknesses. Bethel’s social programs struggle with funding issues, high turnover rates, and compassion fatigue, audience members said, and it's well known that alcohol-related incidents spiked after the city allowed alcohol sales.
"We go out more for alcohol-related calls than anything else," said Perry Barr, a longtime volunteer with Bethel Search and Rescue. "It feels like we don’t do search and rescues any more, we just go out and rescue a lot of people who are drunk."
The liquor store has now lost its license, and the issue of alcohol sales is going back on the ballot in October. As to what's next, Task Force members agreed that Bethel should consider working with an outside consulting firm to adopt a city-wide, strategic plan for dealing with alcohol-related issues. Some residents worried about how much that would cost. Recover Alaska's Executive Director, Tiffany Hall, also attended the meeting and reported that such a strategic plan could cost between $20,000 and $40,000.
City Council members Mitchell Forbes and Leif Albertson expressed some frustration that the Alcohol Task Force was still in its planning stages. "I do want to see this group have some direction so that we have some benefit on alcohol in this community," said Forbes. "I just don’t know if strategic planning meetings will do it, or what will do it."
Representatives of the Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corporation, the Association of Village Council Presidents, and the Lower Kuskokwim School District attended Wednesday's meeting; they were joined by District Attorney Steve Wallace and Bethel Police Department Lieutenant Amy Davis. The Task Force's next meeting will be held next month.