Knik House works to help homeless in transition

WASILLA — After just six months in operation, Blood ‘n’ Fire Ministry’s Knik House is taking on a third building to house people in need.

This past March, Andrea and Lance Moore opened two transitional living houses (one for men and one for women) to Valley residents seeking a clean and sober environment in which to make a fresh start. Some were just out of prison, others struggling to suppress or break addictions. All were homeless — couch surfing or living in cars — or about to be.

By the time the Moores hosted a public ribbon-cutting ceremony for Knik House, all 15 men’s beds and all seven women’s were booked. Since then, the women’s house has served 31 women, and the men’s has seen 40, Andrea Moore said. Even with enough money raised now to obtain a third house — an 11-bed facility that will be the new women’s home — Knik House will still have 29 women and 38 men on the waiting list.

In the meantime, Moore said they try meet people’s non-housing needs as much as possible. To walk-in clients, Knik House offers food, showers, laundry services and to-go bags of essentials like toothpaste, toothbrushes and the occasional protein bar, as well clothing, as it becomes available.

“We try to accommodate people. Even though we can’t actually put ’em in a bed, we try to help ’em a little bit,” Moore said.

For residents, Knik House services go beyond the simple gesture.

The ministry’s 12- to 18-month programs focus on helping people recover from “addictions, chronic homelessness, poverty and lack of nutrition,” Moore said, but the formal and informal spiritual counseling, time and again, is what seems to have the most impact on Knik House residents.

“One of our most important goals is to lead people to Christ,” she said. “Most of the people that we’ve served come to Christ or are coming to Christ.”

Knik House resident Nic Carter was one man who could testify to the practical and spiritual effectiveness of the organization.

Carter heard about Knik House in February. He was going to Church on the Rock in Wasilla with his sister, but he had recently been laid off and was living in his car — faith was not at the forefront of his mind. Still, he contacted Blood ‘n’ Fire about their program.

“I had no idea what to expect,” Carter said. “I was just looking for a place to stay.”

He received much more than that.

“I found unity, I found a closer relationship with Christ and I found family I never knew I had,” he said.

After just two months at the Knik House, Carter felt ready to transition out. He had a job, an apartment, and a renewed outlook on life. Moore and other staff members expressed concerns about his departure, but it was his decision, and they let him go.

Carter carried on with life for two more months, but felt something was missing. He had no temptations toward alcohol or drugs, he said, but felt disconnected from the spiritual family he had grown to love.

“That’s why I came back,” Carter said. “Out there, I was getting so caught up with the world around me. I stopped going to church, I stopped reading the Bible, which I study every day (at Knik House).”

Carter said he does plan to transition out again when he completes his program and has a firmer foundation of faith, but he won’t be leaving Knik House for good.

“I’ll be volunteering here when I can, be a part of whatever I can be as part of the ministry of Knik House,” he said.

Moore said Carter’s attitude is ideal for the future of Knik House, as her hope is to provide “peer-led programs” that engage program entrants and alumni in conversation with each other. Carter in particular said he’d like to put his skills as a chef (his current profession) to use for future Knik House residents.

Amber Bolam, 25, has different post-graduation plans, however.

“I wanna lead a small group in the church that we attend … and to be a speaker for the Knik House,” Bolam said.

A year ago, she would have raised her eyebrows at those goals, to say the least.

“I was pretty much at rock bottom,” she said.

Shortly after the youngest of Bolam’s two sons was born (they’re now 3 and 5 years old), they were taken in by the Office of Children’s Services (OCS) and put into foster care. As soon as OCS discovered the foster parents were ill-suited to the job, Bolam agreed to let her sons be adopted by a local family in 2013. The boys’ new mother let their biological mother visit often, but after Bolam relapsed — lost her car, phone and home — all contact between the women ceased.

Bolam beat herself up about her priorities daily, wondering how she could say she loved her children and still be seeking drugs. But it was one fellow addict who told her about Knik House, and turned her life around.

“It went from trying to get loaded to me being drawn and interested in this place,” Bolam said, recalling the phone conversation with her potential dealer.

Soon Bolam was on her way to Knik House, driven by a friend of Moore’s. Upon her arrival, she said, a handful of women began to pray for her for the first time in her life.

“At that exact second … I just automatically felt chains and things being lifted off,” she said. “There was just relief. My shoulders were not heavy anymore, and I mean, that was just the beginning.”

Three months later, Bolam was clean, had a retail job and a phone. The mother of her boys contacted her and asked to meet. They agreed that she was no longer the woman she had been, and deserved to have a place in her children’s lives.

“When I tell stories about my past … I feel like I’m talking about a close friend of mine,” Bolam said. “It’s like I’m telling someone else’s story.”

However, that’s not just because she’s been “saved,” she said. After learning to write a resume, to look to “stable and sober friends” when tempted by drugs, and even how to maintain healthy and mature romantic relationships, Bolam said she finally feels like a grown-up.

“I’m adulting for the first time in my life,” she said.

To learn more about Knik House, visit knikhouseinc.com, email knikhouse@gmail.com or call 357-0391.

Contact reporter Caitlin Skvorc at 352-2266 or caitlin.skvorc@frontiersman.com.