Homeless youth facility expanding to meet demand for services

A local nonprofit that’s been helping homeless and at-risk youth get on their feet for nearly 16 years is set for its next big chapter.

Since 2010, MY House has been offering a hand up to youth aged 14 to 25, assisting them in overcoming obstacles and empowering them to be contributing, self-supporting members of the community. In addition to housing, MY House provides crisis management services and supplemental programs designed to treat mental health and substance abuse issues. while providing educational and job-training opportunities that promote self-sufficiency and help prevent a return to homelessness.

An on-site café and retail clothing outlet at the Willow Street headquarters in Wasilla offer clients job training and dignity. Educational opportunities also exist for those wanting to earn a diploma. That will change – and expand greatly – with the opening later this year of the Carson-Cottle Center, now under construction on Wasilla Fishhook Road, a short distance from MY House’s current location. The three-story, 64-bed, 33,000-square-foot facility will allow for key staffing increases and new systems needed to meet the increased demand for the organization’s housing, treatment, and workforce development programs.

The new center is being made possible by a recent $4.38 million grant from the Mat-Su Health Foundation. Home-grown Alaskan Michelle Carney Overstreet, MY House’s founder and CEO, said the funding strengthens core administrative capacity and ensures that MY House is prepared to continue serving vulnerable youth with excellence and accountability.

“This grant allows us to build critical infrastructure that will support expanded services for homeless youth and our community,” she said. “We are incredibly grateful to have received this funding from the Mat-Su Health Foundation.”

The nonprofit Mat-Su Health Foundation has been making this kind of investment in community health and wellness since its inception in 2007, when it became part owner of the Mat-Su Regional Medical Center. The Health Foundation returns a share of its hospital profits to the community in the form of scholarships, sponsorships, and grants to nonprofits across the Valley. Since its first grant in 2008, that investment totals more than $160 million.

Esther Pitts, president and CEO of the Mat-Su Health Foundation, said the organization is proud to support MY House and its efforts to expand capacity to serve some of the community’s most vulnerable youth.

“The Carson-Cottle Center represents a comprehensive, forward-looking approach to housing, recovery, workforce development, and prevention,” she said. “This new resource will fill gaps in our behavioral health continuum of care and provide safety, stability, and security so our youth can thrive.”

Slated to open in December, the Carson-Cottle Center will include a café that will provide daily meals for residents in housing and treatment programs while also operating as a public community café. The café will also be a job-training hub where youth gain hands-on experience in a commercial kitchen that mirrors real-world industry standards.

Overstreet noted the value of community partnerships in making the new center a reality.

“The process of working with the MSHF team has been very positive and encouraging, and this effort is truly a testament to the life-changing work our community can accomplish when we work together.”

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https://myhousematsu.org