Wellness Vending Machines Spread to Juneau, Seward, and More
Photo Credit: Qutekcak Native Tribe
Access to basic health-and-wellness supplies should not depend on whether someone has money in their pocket, transportation, an appointment or the courage to ask for help. Access to free wellness vending machines throughout the state is addressing that issue.
The Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska opened a free vending machine in July inside the tribe’s Edward K. Thomas Building in downtown Juneau. Meanwhile, Seward’s Qutekcak Native Tribe (QNT) Community Health Vending Machine also made its debut in July, to a very positive response.
Medicine Reflects Understanding
Wrapped in a bright blue design adapted from a mural created by local artist Susan Swiderski, the QNT machine right outside the tribe’s office at 221 Third Avenue offers health and wellness products free to anyone, all day, all year. Products stocked include opioid overdose reversal kits, lidocaine, HIV tests, cold and flu medicine, first aid supplies, and personal hygiene products.
In respect for spiritual wellness, sage is also included in the machine, with promises of more culturally appropriate wellness surprises to come. “It represents hope, prevention, and compassion and action,” Krisnan Weston, QNT tribal program manager, said during opening ceremonies in July. “Every item inside has the potential to improve life, support families and strengthen our community. Because health begins with access, healing begins with compassion and our shared vision that every healthy community begins with people who choose to care for one another.”
The Juneau machine contains overdose rescue kits, HIV tests, condoms, and drug disposal kits, but some of the most popular items are Hudson Bay tea and Devils Club salve. Tlingit and Haida has plans to add beading kits, demonstrating the importance of culturally connected healing practices. “The community has reinforced that wellness is not one-size-fits-all,” adds Jessica Jones, Tlingit and Haida community behavioral health clinical operations director. “Healing can happen through prevention, harm reduction, cultural traditions, creativity, relationships, and connection. We want the machine to reflect that broad understanding of wellness.”
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September 2026
The vending machines are among several installed throughout Alaska by a grant program offered by the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium. Similar machines are found at the Ketchikan Indian Community clinic, the Annette Island Service Unit in Metlakatla, Megan’s Place (a.k.a. Homer Syringe Exchange) in Kenai, Cama’i Community Health Center in Naknek, Sunshine Community Health Center in Willow, Tanana Chiefs Conference in Fairbanks, Aleutian Pribilof Islands Association in Unalaska, Maniilaq Association in Kotzebue, and Narcotic Drug Treatment Center near Downtown Anchorage.
The QNT machine is made possible through a partnership with the City of Seward. “We are incredibly grateful to be part of this program and proud of what it represents for Seward,” says Jamilyn Fenn, QNT’s finance manager. “This machine is the result of many people and organizations working together with one shared goal: making health, wellness, prevention and lifesaving resources easier for people to access.”
Although set up by tribes, the Juneau vending machine is accessible to all residents, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays. “The vending machine is available to our entire community because the health of our Tribal citizens is directly connected to the health of the broader community in which we all live,” says Jones. “When people can access harm-reduction supplies, wellness resources, and culturally meaningful items without cost, stigma, or unnecessary barriers, everyone benefits.”
Lesson in Progress
Photo Credit: Central Council of Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska
As QNT and Seward officials learn the community’s wants and needs, items are checked, restocked, and rotated on a weekly basis. “The machine is not something we simply installed and considered finished,” says Fenn. “We continue checking it, stocking it, learning from it, and finding ways to make it better for the people using it.”
Fenn says one of the biggest lessons so far is how valuable simple and private access can be. Wellness supplies are accessible without paperwork, without having to explain why they’re needed, and without having to justify the need.
Staff have also learned some very practical lessons about operating a vending machine in Alaska. “We discovered certain products simply do not tolerate temperature changes as well as others,” Fenn explains. “Now we pay even closer attention to which products are appropriate for different temperatures and seasons. Every week teaches us something new about how we can make the program better.”
The machine in Juneau registered approximately 200 uses by the end of September. “Response has been incredible,” says Bettyann Carlos, behavioral health aide trainee, “demonstrating the strong interest in convenient, low-barrier access of health, wellness, harm reduction, and cultural healing resources.”
Success of the QNT machine will be measured in how frequently items need to be restocked or added, as well as community input. But QNT tribal clerk Anastasia Thiele says success is also bigger than numbers.
“If someone has naloxone available when it is needed, that matters,” says Thiele. “If someone can get a hygiene product or first aid supply they need, that matters. If a family can safely dispose of unused medication, that matters. If one of our Native community members can access sage when they need that cultural or spiritual connection, that matters. If someone walks up to the machine and finds exactly what they need in that moment, that matters.”
Gauging Success
Participants at the vending machine unveiling place handprints on a large healing paddle that is brought to Community Behavioral Services events.
Photo Credit: Central Council of Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska
Although primarily intended to combat opioid overdoses and infectious diseases when Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium launched the initiative, funded by the Indian Health Service, in February, the local partners determine exactly what role each machine serves.
“Because the machine provides private access, we may never know every story behind the products that leave it. And that’s okay,” says Thiele. “If a mother wakes up at 2 a.m., and her child is running a fever, and she can walk to that machine and get an over-the-counter medication when everything else is closed, that matters. Those are the moments this program is here for.”
“You may never know the name of the person whose life was saved because that machine was there, and that is okay,” adds Fenn. “We do not need recognition. We need them alive. For us, success is knowing that resources are available, people are using them, and our community has one more place to turn.”
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