A Career Helping Clients Jumpstart Their Goals

At Alaska Housing Finance Corporation’s Anchorage Family Investment Center, more than 20 staff work to connect families to housing and help Alaska Housing tenants identify resources like childcare, job training and education opportunities.

The AFIC is one of three AHFC family investment centers in Alaska, offering in-person and remote support for the thousands of families who utilize an AHFC housing voucher or reside in an Alaska Housing property.

Michael, a case manager with AHFC’s Jumpstart, is a member of this team. For the last decade, he’s worked to support families by helping them to identify barriers to self-sufficiency and develop goals and objectives to overcome these obstacles.

“I enjoy meeting people from different backgrounds, getting to know them and helping them toward their goals.”

A Passion for Helping Others

Michael is an antique collector with a love for the fine arts. He moved to Alaska in 1998 and has lived here ever since.

Throughout his career, he has been driven by a passion for helping others.

Michael has served on the Board of Directors for two nonprofits and worked in previous case management positions.

“I always heard great things about AHFC in the community and that’s what drew me to the corporation. I had seen a specific position that looked interesting and applied.”

It was the only position he applied to; he knew it was the role he wanted.

Within a year, he was promoted to Housing Program Specialist II – FSS Case Manager.

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“You have to be passionate about what you do.” - Michael, case manager, Jumpstart, AHFC

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Providing a Jumpstart

Case managers like Michael are one part of AHFC’s Jumpstart – a program for AHFC families that focuses on building financial literacy and growing self-sufficiency.

“Jumpstart provides a comprehensive analysis of each family’s circumstances that receives case management,” Michael explains.

In Jumpstart, families work with their assigned case manager toward setting and reaching goals of economic independence and housing stability.

The program includes resources and educational opportunities to promote career advancement, education assistance and saving incentives, personal planning and supportive services and much more.

Supporting Success in AHFC Families

As a Jumpstart case manager, Michael meets regularly with the families on his caseload, supporting around 70 program participants at any given time.

 “This work includes conducting client assessments, planning, goal setting, education, linkage to resources which may be of benefit, budgeting and tracking performance measures,” he says.

Last year, 703 families participated in Jumpstart.

Employees like Michael play a key role in making statistics like this possible and Michael says he is proud of what he does. For him, the success of the program is seen in each unique story of a family that participates in Jumpstart and goes on to thrive.

“Jumpstart has a high success rate and I love hearing and seeing all the individual success stories!”