Beacon Hill building strong families and communities

A Christ-based nonprofit at work in the community has been supporting, serving, and encouraging vulnerable children since 2009.

Beacon Hill’s focus is children in foster care or at risk of going into foster care. Through its offices and outreach programs in Palmer and Anchorage, the organization aims to see all children loved and well cared for in healthy homes.

Beacon Hill started out as a group of concerned citizens, inspired by their love of Christ, who wanted to make a difference in their community, said BH’s executive director, Kristen Bierma. The need is great in Alaska, where research has shown that children are twice as likely to end up in foster care as in the rest of the nation.

There are currently 2,800 children in state custody. Without support, they face increased rates of homelessness, incarceration, and substance abuse.

In the early days, Beacon Hill volunteers took the form of a giving group, which focused on mothers in crisis. That led to the opening of a transitional living center and a growing realization that it was the kids who were most in need of support.

“We are very blessed with some great partners,” Bierma said. “We are well-supported by the community in the work we do.”

Among those supporters is the Mat-Su Health Foundation.

The Mat-Su Health Foundation shares ownership in the local hospital, the Mat-Su Regional Medical Center, ensuring it continues to grow and meet the needs of Mat-Su residents. MSHF invests its share of the profits into scholarships, programs, and grants with the goal to improve community health.

Since 2008, MSHF has invested in a healthy community through grants, scholarships, and sponsorships totaling more than $106 million. Beacon Hill has benefitted from $496,133 in grants over the years, including the most recent one for its Palmer facility.

“The Mat-Su Health Foundation is a sustaining partner to Beacon Hill,” Bierma said. “They generously support our work in the Valley.”

At the Palmer facility, Beacon Hill’s Safe Families for Children outreach is the main focus. A nationwide initiative founded in 2003, Safe Families helps to prevent or deflect child welfare interventions by hosting vulnerable children and creating extended family-like supports.

“Mat-Su Health Foundation really helped us build and sustain that program. When you invest in children and families like they do, it changes the trajectory of a community,” Bierma said. “Strong families invest back in the community. So the Mat-Su Health foundation has a huge impact.”

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