Taking aim at youth homelessness

As winter sets in once again, homelessness becomes more of an urgent issue. This is especially true for youth, who face greater risks – and dangers – living on the street. Covenant House Alaska, a nonprofit organization in Anchorage that serves Mat-Su residents, too, has been working since the 1980s to combat homelessness. It is the largest provider in the state of services to unhoused youth, ages 13 to 24.

Covenant House Alaska offers a safe place to stay and get help. Doors are open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and all services are free of charge. No youth is turned away.

As we enter Youth Homelessness Awareness Month, at the start of the often unforgiving Alaska winter, Covenant House Alaska’s vision of a state where the experience of youth homelessness is rare, brief, and non-recurring is in sharp focus. Alison Kear, the organization’s CEO, said making that vision a reality is no easy task.

“The challenges our youth face these days are tougher than anything I’ve seen in my 29 years,” she said. “The increases in volume and complexity of youth needs we saw during the pandemic paled in comparison to what we saw over the course of 2023, and indeed over any time in our 35-year history.”

A $15,000 February grant from the Mat-Su Health Foundation for an emergency cold weather shelter helped address the spike in demand last winter. The shelter added 25 beds to the 40 existing ones and allowed Covenant House to provide 1,559 bed-nights and 3,100 meals to 195 youth. Kear said 10 to 15 percent of those youth were from the Valley.

“The Mat-Su Health Foundation helps Covenant House to provide services to youth from the Mat-Su region that are not available in their home communities. Youth homelessness doesn't pause for winter, and neither can we,” Kear said. “This month, as we raise awareness about youth homelessness in Alaska, we’re especially grateful for partners like the Health Foundation who help ensure that no young person has to face the deadly cold alone. Their support transforms our mission of moving youth from survival to stability into reality.”

The Mat-Su Health Foundation has been investing in community wellness for 17 years. As part owner of the Mat-Su Regional Medical Center, the health foundation channels its share of profits into grants to local nonprofits while continuing to help ensure the hospital meets the needs of a growing population. The Covenant House Alaska grant is part of more than $130 million invested in the community since 2007.

In addition to meeting the basic survival needs of youth, like a meal, a shower, and a warm place to stay, Covenant House Alaska also offers medical attention, counseling and crisis intervention, and substance abuse and mental health services, as well as housing and employment assistance and a variety of other services.

“The single most critical component of our mission is to keep youth safe from the streets and the elements, so that they can redirect their focus from daily survival to building healthy, stable futures,” Kear said. “Grants such as the one from the Mat-Su Health Foundation underscore the power of community partnership in addressing youth homelessness.”

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https://covenanthouseak.org/