Somethings Wins $2.6M for Alaska Youth Peer Support
The Alaska Rural Health Transformation Program funding will bring free text-based mentoring to young people in rural and Alaska Native communities.
Updated on Nov. 2, 2026 in Youth
Live Poll
Do you support using federal funds for free youth mental health programs in your community?
Behavioral health company Somethings was selected for $2,617,260 through Alaska's Rural Health Transformation Program to provide peer-based support to Alaskans ages 13 to 26. Free text-based mentoring for youth in Homer and nearby communities is expected to begin in early December.
Why it matters
The text-based format is designed to reach rural young people with limited internet access, without requiring trips to a clinic or video appointments. The program connects them with trained peer mentors who draw on their own experiences with mental health challenges, recovery or trauma.
Mentors are paid $20 an hour plus monthly bonuses for remote, part-time positions, and the service is offered five days a week at no cost with no waitlist. A separate $134,100 Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority grant went to Project GRAD Kenai Peninsula, but the extraction does not state how it relates to the Somethings program.
The players
Somethings
Somethings is a behavioral health company selected to deliver the peer support program through Alaska's Rural Health Transformation Program.
MUSKEG Wellness
MUSKEG Wellness is the training provider that certifies the peer mentors who will staff the program, based in Kasilof.
The details
Participants will communicate with peer specialists through low-bandwidth text chats, and each mentor receives training and works under the supervision of a licensed clinician. Residents of Homer, Seldovia, Nanwalek and Port Graham will be eligible, and MUSKEG Wellness is the selected training provider.
Timeline
Early December 2026: expected start of the free text-based peer support service.
Winter 2026: free youth mental health support expected to become available in Homer and isolated Kachemak Bay communities.
First six months of operation: program aims to serve 3,000 young Alaskans.
Youth Peer Support
The award draws on the Alaska Rural Health Transformation Program, which directs federal dollars to rural and Alaska Native communities, and applies them to peer mentoring that is delivered remotely rather than through in-person clinics.
Young people in Homer, Seldovia, Nanwalek, Port Graham and isolated Kachemak Bay communities could gain free, no-waitlist access to a mentor five days a week without travel or video calls. The service is designed for those with limited internet access who need support through low-bandwidth text.
The takeaway
Rural young people who lack reliable internet or clinic access may still reach trained support through a simple text conversation. Families in eligible communities can watch for the early December launch.
What happens next
Free text-based mentoring is expected to begin in early December 2026, following training and certification of the first group of mentors.
Further reading
Explore more on Youth and related rural health coverage across the state.
More information
Find program information for families and mentors on the Somethings Alaska program page.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Homer News.
Live Poll
Do you support using federal funds for free youth mental health programs in your community?
