Now that we’ve all had a week to regain our bearings and assess damages after the November 30 earthquake, we’re gaining a better grasp of the recovery challenges ahead. The Foraker Group surveyed Anchorage and Mat-Su nonprofit agencies and found that some suffered significant damage and disruption, while others — like United Way’s 2-1-1 — were able […]
Earthquake Recovery Update
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I was in my office Friday at 8:29 a.m. when I was reminded – like all of us in Southcentral – of the amazing forces of nature that define the Alaska experience. But in the hours and days that followed, as neighbors reached out to neighbors, I was struck and inspired by the unique and […]
The Power of Back on Track: Someone Is There To Care
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Ten hours a day, four days a week, Pedro Aviles makes his living by going the extra mile. It’s still a shorter trip than many of his students have to make. Aviles, 26, is the wraparound services coordinator for a community collaboration called Back on Track that helps high school students who are seriously at […]
How We Plan to Solve Homelessness in Anchorage
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Co-authored by Michele Brown, Nancy Burke, Jasmine Khan, and Dr. Richard Mandsager. Anchored Home is Anchorage’s three-year plan to solve homelessness, and we’ve never tried anything like this before. Anchorage has had task forces, community plans, summits, forums and initiatives reaching back decades. And as you’re reading this, good people are at work helping some […]
Complexity Demands Adaptive Leadership Strategies
In Anchorage, we all breathed a collective sigh of relief in August when the news media described the likely beginning of economic recovery. Job losses are slowing. Oil prices are rising. Modest job growth is on the horizon. I’m reminded of the 1980s bumper sticker plea for one more oil boom. If we see our […]
Returning Home Through Rapid Rehousing
There’s a lot of discussion underway about the highly visible face of street homelessness in Anchorage. There’s another, more hidden and pernicious face; and that’s family homelessness. On Aug. 31 of this year, there were 87 known families with a combined 290 people on the Homeless Management Information System list. Sometimes a family becomes homeless […]
A Fighting Chance to Graduate
In 2005, the Anchorage High School graduation rate was 59 percent. Since then, the aim of 90% Graduation by 2020 has been to raise and sustain the graduation rate to 90 percent or better. By 2017, the graduation rate was 81.4 percent. We’re still waiting on 2018’s certified final numbers from the Anchorage School […]
To Live Better, We Must Live United
Excerpted from Michele Brown’s speech given at the 2018 United Way of Anchorage Campaign Kickoff event. Thank you all for being here and for being the front-line change-agents for a better Anchorage. On behalf of the staff and Board of United Way of Anchorage, we are honored to be your partner as we, together, build […]
How We Fight Homelessness
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While there’s no silver bullet, and no single person, organization or funder that can solve homelessness alone, the good news is that we can make headway on complex problems like homelessness through the deliberate, structured collaboration of organizations, volunteers, and community investors who agree to work toward a common agenda.
28 Reasons Why We Fight for 90% by 2020
Smiles, selfies and families standing shoulder to shoulder marked the Anchorage School District’s summer school graduation class of 41 students on Tuesday at East High School. None stood taller than the 28 Back on Track program students who walked the stage to accept their diplomas. Rightly so; six months ago that short walk seemed like […]
