“We leveled up” REDEMPTION at MyHouse debuts t-shirt design during Mat-Su Walk for Recovery

During the 2024 Mat-Su Walk for Recovery, a hot commodity that could be seen on many participants were t-shirts celebrating the event, the first time the walk had one available.

“We leveled up this year with the t-shirts. It was so cool to see it come together,” said Juliah Barnett, who helped design the shirts. She said that the idea was to incorporate the many trails found in Alaska with the style of 90s streetwear style.

“We wanted to design a shirt that people would want to wear always, not just today,” she says of the t-shirts that also included signage to honor the sponsors of the recovery walk. “It was way cooler than I could have imagined.”

The shirts were also made possible by RECOVER ALASKA, a division of the Rasumson Foundation, who sponsored the t-shirts and Three Bears, which sponsored the food at the Recovery Walk. Other sponsors of the Mat-Su Walk for Recovery were True North Recovery, and Cook Inlet Tribal Council.

The mission of REDEMPTION is to raise awareness about the human trafficking pandemic in Alaska, while also providing job training to MyHouse clients aged 14-24 who are experiencing homelessness and/or have been trafficked. They partner with local hotels to upcycle their luxury bed linens into loungewear clothing for sale, made in a safe space by MyHouse clients.

“All of our clothes are designed and printed by MyHouse and are survivors of human trafficking, domestic violence, or other intense life circumstances. It’s an amazing outlet for their healing,” said Barnett, who is also the Project Manager of REDEMPTION at MyHouse.

Barnett says that they are currently working on client-led designs that will represent them and the brand, the ‘loved and thriving’ motto.

All the proceeds from REDEMPTION goes back into MyHouse. For more information about REDEMPTION and the other programs at MyHouse, please visit www.myhousematsu.org