Nonprofit helps keep vulnerable residents from falling through legal cracks

A statewide nonprofit organization that helps more than 7,000 low-income Alaskans a year continues to make a difference in the Mat-Su.

Since 1967, Alaska Legal Services Corporation has been assisting disadvantaged residents with civil legal problems. By offering free services, ALSC has helped protect the safety, health, and stability of individuals and families faced with issues affecting their homes, incomes, jobs and access to vital services like health care and utilities.

Maggie Humm, executive director of ALSC, said the organization specializes in public benefits, income maintenance, housing, consumer protection, domestic violence, and elder law. Those who need this kind of legal assistance too often fall through the cracks, she said, since current models of civil legal services delivery for poor and vulnerable Americans have failed to respond to a growing crisis in access to justice.

This can lead to bigger problems, like loss of home, and an inability to put food on the table.

“This justice gap leaves thousands of vulnerable Alaskans feeling the real-life and devastating consequences of unaddressed legal problems,” Humm said. “We are dedicated to bridging the gap between those who need legal help, and those who can actually get it,” she said.

ALSC has 12 offices around the state that cover every community. Legal guidance is provided by staff and volunteers who donate their time and services to the organization.

Thanks to funding from the Mat-Su Health Foundation and others, an office has been supported in the Valley since 2019. To maximize the efficiency of that office, it is located in the Health Foundation’s building on Crusey Street in Wasilla, where residents who use services provided there by nonprofits like Connect Mat-Su and LINKS can have easy access to often-needed legal assistance.

Connect Mat-Su is a comprehensive health and social services information and referral hub that strives to ensure that everyone in the Mat-Su Borough has what is needed to live a healthy and fulfilling life. The organization provides a physical and virtual resource center that provides residents with immediate access to the information, referrals, and direct assistance specific to the Mat-Su.

As its name suggests, LINKS connects local people with essential community resources, providing advocacy for seniors, veterans, individuals with disabilities, families, and others, ensuring no one is left without support. For more than three decades, LINKS Resource Center has been a lifeline for individuals and families in the Mat-Su Valley.

“Being co-located with partner organizations, like Connect Mat-Su and LINKS, creates a more seamless referral process and reduces barriers for our mutual clients,” Humm said. “This results in a more coordinated community response for the most vulnerable populations.”

The nonprofit Mat-Su Health Foundation has been making this kind of investment in community health and wellness since its inception in 2007. As part owner of the Mat-Su Regional Medical Center, the Foundation has channeled more than $140 million of its share of profits back into the community through nonprofit organizations across the Valley.

Humm said local funding from the Health Foundation and Mat-Su Borough brings enormous returns to the community.

“Since receiving this funding, we have helped Mat-Su residents in hundreds of civil legal cases,” Humm said. “Local funding is absolutely critical to being able to provide services to Mat-Su residents.”

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www.alsc-law.org