Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority Directs $500,000 to Anchorage Permanent Supportive Housing Initiative
During their regular board meeting in May 2020, the Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority board of trustees unanimously approved a grant of $500,000 to Home for Good Anchorage (HFG), a Permanent Supportive Housing effort. This grant follows an initial $500,000 investment the Trust made in 2019 to support HFG’s pilot phase.
A public-private partnership led by United Way of Anchorage and supported by multiple community partners, HFG will provide 150 new housing units and offer intensive case management to residents. HFG uses the evidence-based permanent supportive housing model that applies safe and dignified housing coupled with services as an effective long-term solution for the vulnerable population of Trust beneficiaries who struggle to avoid homelessness and who disproportionately use emergency services, homeless shelters, and emergency rooms.
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“Without stable housing, it can be hard if not impossible to address underlying challenges contributing to homelessness among Trust beneficiaries who are struggling with a substance use disorder, mental illness, developmental disability, or a traumatic brain injury, or to get them the help they need to stabilize their conditions.” said Mike Abbott, CEO of the Trust. “We know Home for Good is a community driven effort, and we thank United Way of Anchorage, project funders including Rasmuson Foundation, Providence Alaska, Premera Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alaska, and the Municipality of Anchorage, as well as multiple partner organizations for their hard work to improve outcomes for some of our hardest to serve beneficiaries.”
The Trust has been a partner in the work to end homelessness across the state and in Anchorage for over a decade, and has supported permanent supportive housing efforts in Anchorage, Juneau, and Fairbanks. The Trust was a funding partner and participant in developing Anchored Home, Anchorage’s Strategic Plan to Solve Homelessness: 2018-2021. Efforts like HFG, which will increase the number of individuals in permanent supportive housing, address key priorities in the Anchored Home plan.
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