Cook Inlet Housing Authority Assists Brother Francis Shelter
Recently, the Brother Francis Shelter announced the number of homeless Alaska Natives and Native Americans in Anchorage has been greatly reduced as a result of a grant provided by Cook Inlet Housing Authority.

Five years ago, the Brother Francis Shelter began operating a Native service project for homeless Alaska Natives and Native Americans. Since 1996, the number of Alaska Native and Native American chronic guests has dropped by 57 percent and the days of stay have dropped by 60 percent. These numbers have declined significantly since the shelter started its Native services program for homeless Alaska Natives and Native Americans.

The Shelter defines "chronic guests" as those who have stayed at the shelter 100 days or more in a calendar year. Many of the chronic homeless the program originally began working with were elders living on the street for 10 or more years.
Different from other grants received by Brother Francis Shelter, the Cook Inlet Housing Authority grant provides two case managers specifically for Alaska Native and Native American clients. The grant also requires the shelter to track clientsą regional affiliation. According to Michelle Peters, a Brother Francis Shelter case management supervisor, the shelter served 656 clients last quarter. Of those 656 clients, 300 were Alaska Native or Native American and 30 were known to be CIRI shareholders.
The grant also allows case managers to continue working with clients even after they have left the shelter. The grant assists shelter clients with rental payments, security-deposits, and other immediate needs necessary for making the transition from emergency shelter to self-sufficiency. Things most people take for granted such as haircuts, bus passes, or showers can make the difference between finding employment or not. "The big difference is that the grant has allowed us to work with folks for a longer period of time," says Peters.

Previous Article | Top | Next Article | Return to the list of newsletters