Supporting Community: Stabilization & Recovery in Sitka

“Are you sure this is real?”

When Denise, program director at Sitka Homeless Coalition, told a client currently experiencing homelessness about the possibility of securing housing with Alaska Housing’s Stabilization & Recovery program, his immediate response was disbelief.

His hopes were confirmed when he was connected to housing in Sitka shortly after that initial conversation. Denise recalls his reaction to his new home, “I forgot what it was like to get a good night's sleep… what it was like to have a shower and to be able to just go and get washed up whenever I needed to.”

Community Partnership

Through partnerships with local organizations such as Sitka Homeless Coalition, Alaska Housing’s innovative Housing Stabilization & Recovery provides short-and-long-term housing stabilization for Alaskans experiencing homelessness. Its approach is holistic, providing stability assistance, moving expenses, security deposits, and up to 9 months of rental assistance to enrolled individuals.

Sitka Homeless Coalition was connected to the program in April through fellow nonprofit and Alaska Housing partner, Sitkans Against Family Violence. Sitka Homeless Coalition works to promote safe, secure housing in Sitka and “build an overall culture of care, health, dignity, and belonging in our community.” Participation in Alaska Housing’s Stabilization & Recovery was a natural fit.

Within six months of working with the program, the coalition had already connected four people with local housing and are in the process of connecting more.

---

"It's really beautiful what a home can do."

- Denise, Program Director, Sitka Homeless Coalition

---

"It's starting to feel like home"

Denise says that the impact of Stabilization & Recovery cannot be overstated. She recalls one moment that stands out to her as an example of the influence it is having on the community.

She had gone over to an apartment to check in on how a move-in was going. The apartment was freshly decorated with furnishings that had been picked out with care. Denise asked the new resident how it felt. His response? “It's starting to feel like home.”

Sitka Homeless Coalition joins dozens of community-based organizations and nonprofits that partner and receive grant funds through Alaska Housing to help provide Alaskans access to safe, quality, affordable housing.

Initiatives like Housing Stabilization & Recovery make a real, direct impact on communities throughout Alaska. As Denise says, it is “increasing a feeling of belonging, increasing a feeling of community, increasing the feeling of home in our town.”

---

Learn more about Housing Stabilization & Recovery and other programs Alaska Housing offers here.