Mat-Su Coalition on Housing meeting slated for June 16

To the editor:

I chair the Operating Board of the Mat-Su Coalition on Housing and Homelessness (MSCHH) and as such, am responding to Howard Bess’ May 17 Frontiersman article, “Can we be neighbors to our community’s homeless?”

Although Reverend Bess regularly attends the coalition’s general membership meetings and we thank him for writing about the coalition and the homeless population in our borough, he does not speak for the Mat-Su Coalition on Housing and Homelessness or for the operating board of MSCHH. The opinions expressed in the article about homeless teenagers are his own. Housing homeless teens is a difficult and complex problem in our Valley and the coalition is dedicated to gathering and providing accurate and verifiable information about homelessness.

We invite any individuals or organizations interested in addressing housing and homelessness issues to attend our next general meeting scheduled at 9:30 a.m., June 16 at the Mat-Su Evangelical Covenant Church at 5201 E. Mayflower on the Palmer-Wasilla Highway.

Joe Irvine

Mat-Su Coalition on Housing and Homeless Operating Board