Set Free Alaska breaks ground for new community center

Ground was broken for an expansion of the Set Free Alaska campus off Bogard Road in Wasilla May 15.

The Bryce Ray Community Center will feature community spaces, and more than that, support the expansion of SFA’s children and family program, which includes supervised visitation and group therapy spaces.

“This campus and this property really has been a dream years in the making. Not only will this therapeutic campus represent freedom for thousands of Alaskans, but it’s really a part of a greater recidivism reduction effort in the state of Alaska,” said Dr. Ryan Ray, founder of SFA.

Dr. Ray says that the expansion is the culmination of working with the legislature and the federal government, recognizing that Alaska has one the highest rates of recidivism, along with the highest rate of people with addiction disorders who are incarcerated.

“We have to find strategies to reduce recidivism, particularly for individuals with substance use disorders, and that is the driving force of this project. It’s really planting the flag in the ground and saying, ‘we in the Mat-Su can lead in this effort.’”

Dr. Ray says that the work being done at SFA is a model that addresses all criminogenic needs within one location, and that model was even presented in Europe during a law enforcement and public health conference.

But more than that, the community center is a personal project for Dr. Ray as it is named for his father, who passed away late last year, and was not only a minister, but the winningest C-team volleyball coach in Alaska history, coaching for teams at Colony and Palmer, sometimes coaching varsity, though his son says that wasn’t his true passion.

“He wanted to coach C-team because C-team is where you get to plant those seeds and teach and train. He would give some of his ‘papa’ lectures to kids that were sometimes coming from rough situations, and he felt it was his opportunity to plant some good lessons,” he recalls.

“Today, we’re breaking ground on the Bryce Ray Community Center, and he would have been so blessed to know that the Children’s Program at Set Free Alaska will be housed in this building as a part of the whole therapeutic campus, and that’s very, very special.”

The new building is set to be 21,000 square feet, which will double the current size of the Children and Family Program. The property was bought by the Mat-Su Health Foundation and donated to SFA in 2020, along with donations that were made to remodel the other buildings on the campus.

It will also include a sizeable gym, walking track, kitchen, and a chapel, which was a request from a client in the Children and Family program, who thought it would be nice to have a quiet space for people to pray or meditate.

SFA President and CEO Phillip Licht was on hand to give remarks before the groundbreaking, saying:

“This site that we’re standing on here is the place where we bring the love and support, healing and hope to so many people.”

He said that SFA was responsible for 23 parent-child reunifications last year.

“We are all about serving the entire family, making that family whole, and helping that family walk out with the hope and the destiny that they have-to become contributing members of our communities.”

Licht said that children and families is a much-needed service within the community and the long-term dream for the property will include additional housing units for long-term recovery residents, a children’s playground, paved walking trails, all for one goal:

“To provide spaces where our community and clients can come together in a healthy, safe environment to build relationships, to build connections, and continue walking on that journey towards recovery.”

“It won’t be the building that impacts the lives of others—it will be you. It will be the wonderful, talented staff of Set Free Alaska. It will be you, the dedicated ambassadors of God’s love and freedom from bondage. It’ll be you, the caring, compassionate leaders of our community,” said an emotional Dr. Ray before the groundbreaking.

“As we break ground on the Bryce Ray Community Center, may his words echo beyond today. ‘Remember who you are, and make a difference.’”

SFA not only offers services in Wasilla, but Homer, Kenai, Soldotna, and Ketchikan. For more information about Set Free Alaska, please visit www.setfreealaska.org