Laurel Renkert's Recovery Journey
In May 2008, when I returned home from college, my parents faced a daunting challenge: supporting me through my eating disorder with few local resources. Despite my therapy sessions in Anchorage, they watched helplessly as I struggled. If the Alaska Eating Disorders Alliance (AKEDA) had existed then, my parents would have had access to a network of providers, specialists, and other families facing similar challenges.
They had so many questions:
How can we get our daughter the help she needs? What treatment options are available? Does she need to seek help outside Alaska? Will outpatient treatment be effective, or does she require inpatient care? What are the costs involved in inpatient treatment?
Fortunately, they discovered a supportive facility in Arizona, and I willingly left for treatment in the fall of 2008. I spent Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's focusing on my recovery. By my 21st birthday, I had transitioned to an outpatient program, gaining the tools I needed to reintegrate into "real life."
My journey of recovery has continued since then, and I am proud to now help others on their paths. I published a book last fall that shares valuable life lessons from my experience (www.laurelgai.com), and I joined the AKEDA Board in January of this year. Eating disorders impact countless individuals across the country, and the rates in Alaska are alarmingly high.
If you or someone you know is struggling, I urge you to reach out to AKEDA for support. Together, we can make a difference. If you feel moved to help, please consider supporting AKEDA in its mission to provide resources and hope to those in need. Your involvement can change lives and save lives!
Why Jenny Loudon & Beth Rose Started This Alliance
When someone close to you suffers a physical illness – a broken bone, a bad cold, or even a chronic condition – sharing with others comes naturally. We reach out for comfort, advice, and recommendations. But what if the issue isn’t a broken bone, but a broken spirit? A disorder that hides in silence, shame, and stigma?
More than five years ago, we each found ourselves in this place, struggling quietly to support loved ones through the invisible, isolating grip of an eating disorder. Though we were friends, neither of us knew the other was carrying this same, heavy burden – because we didn’t talk about it. The stigma surrounding eating disorders kept us both silent and afraid.
But a chance discovery that we shared this hidden experience changed everything. From our own isolation, we realized how deeply Alaskans struggling with eating disorders needed community and support. So, we came together to create AKEDA – a safe haven and a guiding light for anyone touched by eating disorders, whether directly or as caregivers, friends, family members or providers.
In the five years since, we have been overwhelmed by how AKEDA has grown beyond our dreams. Thanks to our remarkable board and community, we now offer family and friends support groups, an adult support group, educational programs for caregivers, professional training for providers, and a list of local providers equipped to treat eating disorders. Every time we hear someone say, “AKEDA helped me find hope again,” we are reminded why this work matters.
Krisanne Rice and Jim Clare Share Why Their Family Supports AKEDA
Our family walked a profoundly lonely road 15 years ago, resorting to the internet to find resources and a treatment program outside to provide knowledgeable information and care for a family member. At that time, our local medical system could not offer any information, recommendations or a direction for us to pursue.
Jump ahead to 2024 and AKEDA’s FIVE year anniversary! Bravo!
AKEDA fills that lonely void that existed for us. Individuals and their family and friends no longer have to flounder around on the internet, searching for out of state help and support during the wee hours of the morning.
We are impressed by the depth and breadth of the evidence based information and resources available today for individuals, families and friends plus medical and mental health providers here in Alaska.
We are especially grateful to AKEDA for emphasizing and acting on bringing internationally recognized experts to Alaska to offer education and training to the professional community. The local training on TBT-S by Dr. Laura Hill in 2021 and 2022, as well as the annual ongoing Project ECHO series are ways we see high caliber professional development that is clearly increasing the capacity for Alaskans to access and provide life-saving help.
We are pleased to support AKEDA and look forward to their continued growth to expand knowledge, support and treatment for individuals living with an eating disorder, those who support them and those that provide professional care.
Anna Jajewski Shares Why Her Family Supports AKEDA
In 2014 when my brother, Jack, and sister, Ellie, were driving home to Washington from California after the college school year ended, Ellie told Jack she had been struggling with an eating disorder. I was fourteen years old at the time and shortly after, Ellie was diagnosed with a severe eating disorder and depression. This was the beginning of an eight year long battle that Ellie and my family faced. My mom, brother and I did the best we could, but support for family members was limited, even though we were living in Washington. We felt alone.
Ellie spent eight years going in and out of inpatient and residential treatment centers all over the United States. She finally was able to break through, and begin her journey to healing. Today, Ellie is still living in Washington, where she graduated from college last year. She started nursing school in September.
Upon moving to Alaska for my graduate school degree, I became involved with AKEDA after learning about the few resources Alaska has for those struggling with eating disorders. It has been a privilege to relaunch the weekly adult eating disorder support group, which I facilitate with Dr. Jenny Poon. AKEDA also has a friends and family support group for those who have loved ones struggling with an eating disorder. This would have been the kind of support my family could have used when Ellie was struggling.
Jack also lives in Alaska now, and is the Vice President of Operations for Volunteers of America, an organization that strives to provide hope, health, and healing for every Alaskan. Jack also volunteers with AKEDA, and has begun fostering a relationship between AKEDA and VOA, as there are countless youth in the community that VOA serves that struggle with eating disorders.
If you or someone you know is struggling, we encourage you to reach out to AKEDA for support. AKEDA is a bridge, connecting people who feel lost and alone to resources that can be life changing.
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