Addiction recovery facility finds its True North

When personal experience drives a desire to help others, the results can be powerful.

Hatched in 2016 by people in recovery from addiction who also had a passion for making the community better, True North Recovery offers peer-supported and peer-led services that provide individuals with the tools and resources necessary to sustain long-term recovery.

True North’s founder and CEO, Karl Soderstrom, said the nonprofit organization began out of a desire to raise awareness of, and reduce the stigma around addiction recovery.

“We lost 12 people in 2016. We got tired of burying our friends,” he said. “We wanted to tell the world that we got well and they can, too. If we have resources and ability to help people today, we should do that.”

True North made a splash almost immediately, with demand for services driving the addition of a second treatment facility within months of the first one opening its doors. For the last five years, the organization has doubled in size annually. Where there were once just four staff at the original location in Wasilla, there are now 140 between Wasilla and Fairbanks, the vast majority of whom are also in recovery. “There is an overwhelming need in our community,” Soderstrom said. “We will be aggressive with our growth until we have empty beds and empty seats. We haven’t met that ceiling. There is still a wait list for our services.”

A recent grant from the Mat-Su Health Foundation will assist True North in expanding its reach. The $329,142 grant awarded in May helped the organization bring its Day One treatment center up to fire code and also expand capacity for future growth.

“We’ve created a safer environment for our clients and also added more crisis beds,” Soderstrom said. “It helps us be able to say yes when someone asks for help.”

The May grant was not the first for True North. The Mat-Su Health Foundation has supported the organization from the beginning, not just with money, but with technical assistance and expertise, too. The health foundation has been a partner in general community wellness since 2008, when its grant program started. As part owner of the Mat-Su Medical Center, the foundation invests its share of profits into the community. In the 16 years of its existence, the Mat-Su Health Foundation has channeled more than $130 million into nonprofit organizations around the Valley, while continuing to help ensure the hospital meets the needs of a growing population. “We are thankful for the Mat-Su Health Foundation,” Soderstom said. “I don’t come from a leadership background. I’m just a guy in recovery trying to help as many people as I can. So I am super grateful for that partnership.”

True North operates on a foundation of acknowledging that recovery from addiction is a lifelong endeavor. “If there are people seeking help, we want to raise awareness in our community that you can come in get real access to real care right now,” Soderstrom said.