How you can improve Alaska’s beleaguered human trafficking laws

cha-devAwareness

Jan. 21, 2022 By Sam Buisman – Covenant House Alaska Staff Writer Working to end human trafficking in Alaska is central to our mission at Covenant House Alaska. Yet, this will likely remain an uphill battle for as long as our laws remain in their current state. Alaska’s human trafficking laws fail to address the breadth of trafficking crimes committed …

Living room at MACK House

Opening of MACK House

cha-devEvents, Impact Updates

This September, we opened the doors of MACK House (Minors Accessing Care & Kindness), our new housing facility designed to serve the specific needs of minors experiencing homelessness. We talked with Executive Director Alison Kear about this exciting new venture. Q: Alison, we are all thrilled about MACK House and what it means for the youth we serve. Can you explain …

Jacquii with a Cue on Indigenous Peoples’ Day

cha-devAwareness

10/11/21 By Jacquii Cue, Covenant House Alaska Ambassador In celebration of Indigenous Peoples’ Day, we’d like to introduce you to one of our Covenant House Alaska ambassadors, Jacquii with a Cue from Kotzebue. We have asked her to share her perspective on Indigenous Peoples’ day because we believe fully in using our platform to spark conversation and spread awareness around …

Addi at college

Transformation Tuesday: Addi

cha-devOur Youth

Our Covenant House Alaska family celebrates as we send one of our incredible youth off to college for the Fall semester! Contributed by Program Coordinator, Nicole Stuemke Addi’s Story Addi grew up in the Las Vegas area in a home where she endured years of neglect and abuse. When she was old enough, she moved to Alaska where she had …

photo of Dani

In Memory

cha-devOur Youth

The below memoriam is written by our Chief Program Officer, Heidi Huppert. We love our youth, like our own. In our little chapel with its glass walls, we have held far too many memorial services for the young people we have lost. With the services we pull together with our Pastoral Minister and a smattering of staff that knew the …

Funders and CHA Executive Director Alison Kear standing with shovels at Breaking Ground ceremony

Breaking Ground and Building Bridges for Youth Experiencing Homelessness

cha-devEvents, Impact Updates

In June, Covenant House Alaska broke ground on its historic and innovative plan to build 22 micro-unit apartments for youth experiencing homelessness. We sat down with Executive Director, Alison Kear, to learn more.  Q: Alison, what an incredible time to be a supporter of Covenant House Alaska. We just broke ground on 22 micro-unit apartments on this very footprint on …

Covenant House Alaska Youth Engagement Center

Reggie’s Story

cha-devEvents

Thank you to Jenifer Lachance, Covenant House Alaska YEC Associate Program Coordinator for Minor Youth, and Sara Jean Greenberg, Referral Specialist for Minor Youth, for sharing their direct experience with this young man. Reggie arrived at Covenant House Alaska with raised fists and a short fuse. Just shy of 18, Reggie didn’t quite understand his size or strength yet. This …

Tom Homza decked in Santa gear at ROP sledding event

Covenant House Alaska Mentor Spotlight – Tom

cha-devMentor, Volunteer Stories

Mentor Journey This month’s Covenant House Alaska mentor spotlight is Tom Homza! Tom has served as an exceptional Rights of Passage mentor since December 2018. Tom’s motivation to become a Covenant House Alaska mentor stems from our mission statement. In the Covenant House mission statement is a phrase about serving youth “with absolute respect.” I feel this is a critical …

Thank you banner at welcome desk

A Year of Virtual Volunteers

cha-devEvents, Mentor, Volunteer Stories

National Volunteer Week It’s National Volunteer week! Our volunteers are amazing. And this last year hasn’t been easy. Covenant House Alaska relies on volunteers to engage with our youth in ways no other team members can. The dedication of time and talent expresses such a profound and genuine caring for our youth. There are many ways Volunteers are involved! They …

Young man skipping rocks

The Misconceptions of Male Trafficking Survivors

cha-devOur Youth

By Trafficking Prevention and Intervention Team It’s National Human Trafficking Awareness Month. In an effort to spread more awareness, we want to talk about the often forgotten male survivors of trafficking and debunk a few misconceptions of trafficking. Just like young females, we know that young males are exploited at high rates; however, they are recovered at a fraction of …