Cardboard City helps raise awareness of homelessness

PALMER — For many, the prospect of Friday night is something to look forward to. Get a start on a relaxing weekend away from the office, fire up the barbecue grill, maybe take the family to a movie.

For others in the Mat-Su, Friday night is just like any other night — fraught with worry over where they’re going to sleep, where their next meal will come from, and how to make sure the children have decent clothing, and a sanitary place to stay.

That’s the difference between being homeless in the Mat-Su and not, said Laurie Kari, executive director for Family Promise Mat-Su. And for most, the line between these two scenarios is paper-thin.

“Most of us are three paychecks away from being homeless,” she said. “If you lose your job, it doesn’t take long at all to fall behind in your rent.”

Family Promise is one of a handful of local organizations trying to make sure homeless families in the Mat-Su, and help those who may be on the verge, have a safe place to live. To that end, the organization is hosting its fifth annual Cardboard City event at the Alaska State Fairgrounds, from 5:30 p.m., today through 8 a.m., Saturday.

For one night, the community is invited to get a small taste of what it’s like to live homeless, while also raising awareness for the issue on a local and national scale, Kari said. Participants will sleep in a cardboard box and be given a bowl, spoon and a cup at the beginning. They’ll get their food from a “soup kitchen” on site.

“You’re not allowed to bring other food in or drink,” she said. “We’ll have water and soup and food. I hope people get an almost emotional reaction about unstable housing and what it means to not know where your next meal is coming from.”

Although Cardboard City really isn’t a true taste of homelessness — most participants will return to their safe, warm homes after one night at the fairgrounds — it’s an important message that this is a problem that affects real people in the Mat-Su, she said.

“We are doing the best we can to recreate a part of the feeling of having insufficient resources in your life,” she said. “It’s making people aware of the resources available.”

In Alaska, about 6,700 people are homeless at any point in time, and in 2012, the number of homeless students in the United States topped 1 million, Kari said. Closer to home in the Valley, about 800 children are estimated to be homeless or without a stable place to live.

And at Family Promise, which works to find temporary housing and homeless solutions for local families, the organization says it has provided 11,650 shelter nights since opening in 2005.

“Those are all families with children,” Kari said. “That’s our niche. We work with a strong referral system and we collaborate with all the other agencies with the folks we can’t shelter.”

Rain or shine, Cardboard City will move forward, Kari said. After all, homelessness doesn’t depend on good weather.

Those wanting to participate in Cardboard City can register online until 2 p.m. today at the Family Promise Mat-Su website, familypromisematsu.org. You can also register at the event at the Green Gate at the Alaska State Fairgrounds. Donations to help Family Promise Mat-Su’s efforts also can be submitted online or at the event via credit card, Kari said.

Although the numbers are sobering, Kari said she’s most affected by the examples of real people. She said she would have been homeless at one point in her own life if not for the help of a family member. She also recalls a young mother who turned her situation around.

“The most recent heartwarming story for me was a woman with a 6-month-old baby,” Kari said. “She was a young mom and had planned to enter into Job Corps, but was homeless until she got that figured out. She came in to our shelter with her son and made lots of relationships here. She now comes back to visit and is a person who was very, very dedicated to making herself succeed for the sake of her baby.”

Contact Greg Johnson at 352-2269 or

greg.johnson@frontiersman.com.