New supportive housing opens for elders experiencing homelessness in Anchorage

The building, successful midtown Anchorage, will yet location 45 residents and has 5 rooms for recuperative care. (Matthew Faubion/AKPM)

Steve Austin beamed arsenic he showed disconnected his caller flat astatine Q’et’en Qenq’a, meaning ‘elders’ house’ successful nan Dena’ina language. It’s a mini workplace pinch large windows successful Midtown, Anchorage. 

“This is nan surviving quarters,” he said, gesturing to nan main room. “It’s my surviving room, eating room and my bedroom. Got a beautiful, queen size furniture to slumber on.”

He gestured to nan room and said he cooks a batch for himself and 1 of his favourite things to make is simply a large cookware of chili. 

The building is besides known arsenic Providence House and nan task combines housing, lawsuit management, and wellness care. Austin said nan past clip he had unchangeable independent lodging was astir 5 years agone and surviving present will thief him get backmost connected his feet and get his life together. 

“Being successful nan shelter system, that is not a normal life,” Austin said. “You person to beryllium connected your defender each nan clip that somebody’s not stealing your belongings.  Here, you don’t person to interest astir that, because everything is successful your room. You’re location by yourself. You don’t person to stock thing pinch anybody else.”

The supportive lodging analyzable is simply a collaboration betwixt Providence Alaska, Southcentral Foundation and different organization partners. It will location azygous group aliases couples complete 55-years-old who are experiencing aliases are astatine consequence of homelessness, immoderate of nan rapidly-growing number of elders experiencing homelessness successful nan city. 

Austin was 1 of nan first residents to move successful to Q’et’en Qenq’a. Sixteen group unrecorded location now and yet it will location astir 45. Experts dream it’s a mini but important measurement towards helping lick nan analyzable homelessness problem successful Anchorage. The metropolis has nan largest population of group experiencing homelessness successful nan authorities and not capable shelter abstraction to support them. 17% of group successful emergency shelters successful nan metropolis are complete 55. 

Steve Austin is simply a caller resident astatine Providence House successful Anchorage. This is nan first unchangeable residence he’s had successful 5 years. (Matthew Faubion/AKPM)

Michelle Baker, who heads Southcentral Foundation’s behavioral services division, said it’s a changeless situation to find group supportive lodging successful nan state. 

“What we person coming doesn’t meet nan needs of nan thousands of individuals that unrecorded unsheltered,” Baker said. “So, we are ace grateful for nan providers that person imperishable supportive housing…but we surely request a batch more.” 

Baker said aft nan metropolis closed nan impermanent shelter successful nan Sullivan Arena past summer, it was difficult to support group successful caller lodging without helping them pinch different wellness and behavioral wellness needs. So, she said organizations, including Providence and Southcentral Foundation, started talking astir collaborating to thief group pinch much holistic care. 

Southcentral Foundation will person an agency suite connected nan first level of Q’et’en Qenq’a wherever they’ll connection lawsuit management, aesculapian care, and behavioral wellness care. Baker said it’s 1 of nan first programs successful Anchorage that will connection lodging alongside therapy and behavioral wellness care. 

Tim Zaricznyj, who heads Providence’s supportive lodging projects, said lodging tin beryllium seen arsenic a first measurement successful providing bully healthcare.

“Someone who’s experiencing homelessness, personification who has chronic wellness conditions, personification who has struggles pinch intelligence health, they travel in, and our first involution is housing,” Zaricznyj said. “Our first involution is stability.”

He said providing imperishable supportive lodging for illustration this task besides reduces costs successful nan wellness attraction strategy overall. Research shows that moreover aft a twelvemonth of supportive housing, group are overmuch amended off, much connected to wellness attraction providers, and they trust little connected costly emergency attraction services, Zaricznyj said. 

Heather Skelton-Fry, a clinician moving successful intensive lawsuit guidance for Southcentral Foundation said their agency abstraction isn’t yet finished, but she’s already moving pinch residents. 

“It’s been really breathtaking watching group travel from not knowing wherever they’re going to slumber aliases wherever they’re going to unrecorded and past they get handed this beautiful caller abstraction to unrecorded in, and it’s providing a consciousness of hope,” Skelton-Fry said.

She said it’s ever a situation to find unchangeable lodging for her clients, truthful this collaboration will let patients to activity connected different needs. And she said nan nationalist often has misconceptions astir who needs thief pinch housing. The costs of surviving successful Anchorage is high, and she said galore elders trust connected societal information aliases different benefits that often aren’t generous capable to screen market-rate rent pinch surviving costs. 

New Providence House resident Steve Austin is 1 of those people, and arsenic he figures retired his basal needs, he said he has much plans. He wants to create a mini abstraction successful his workplace truthful he tin make art, and he hopes to day again. 

“I’d for illustration to benignant of get myself backmost into a narration pinch somebody, and possibly moreover get married,” Austin said. “ I’ve ne'er been joined before, and I’m 65 years old. It’s time.”

Austin said making love while staying successful shelters is difficult because they person strict curfews. But now that he’s surviving successful Q’et’en Qenq’a, he tin enactment retired arsenic precocious arsenic he wants. 

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