United Way holds Mat-Su Summit to help those in need

WASILLA — For some, getting help with basic needs is a matter of life or death, especially for those suffering from depression or other health issues. Other Valley residents are only a paycheck or two away from losing their homes.

That’s why United Way Mat-Su is holding an all-day Summit on Education, Income and Health Wednesday at the Mat-Su Public Safety Building at Lucille Street and Swanson Avenue.

Designed to bring together community leaders and decision-makers to hear about United Way’s community plan and how nonprofit organizations and others can help, the event runs from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and includes a youth panel from 2:30 to 4 p.m. that promises to give insight into youth issues and needs.

“It’s not every day that young people get to be heard,” United Way Community Impact Director Desiree Compton said of the youth panel. “This is their chance.”

Compton said Summit participants will review community conditions and focus on collective action.

She will present facts and figures on the Valley’s poverty rate, housing needs, substance abuse rates, suicide rates and other vital pieces of information needed to give the overall picture of needs in the area.

In 2010, for instance, there were 1,762 calls to the Valley’s 211 service line. Most of the calls were for transportation, rent and utility assistance, emergency shelter and gas money.

One chart reveals that for a Valley resident to afford a two-bedroom apartment that typically goes for $981 per month, the resident would have to make at least $18.87 per hour at his or her job or work 104 hours a week at minimum wage, according to the Alaska Coalition on Housing and Homelessness.

This is why federal and state rental vouchers are so vital for the working poor, United Way points out.

If budget cuts proposed by Congress for Fiscal Year 2012 pass, Alaska Housing Finance Corporation will lose about $1.3 million for the repair and renovation of public housing stock, $782,000 from the statewide Housing Choice Voucher administrative fund, and $10 million will be cut from tenant protection vouchers, according to United Way figures.

There will be opportunities for people to network, Compton said. This helps various agencies and program staff get to know one another better, which in the end helps residents get the help they need faster and more comprehensively.

“Not a whole lot of people have pulled local data,” Compton said. “I’ve been doing that for a year now.”

As of Friday, there were 50 seats left for the Summit. Those interested in attending can email Compton at dcompton@unitedwaymat-su.org.

Contact K.T. McKee at kate.mckee@frontiersman.com or 352-2252.