Dear Friends and Neighbors,

We are getting settled in to our Anchorage office, and wanted to thank everyone who took the time last Wednesday to join us for our first Marvelous Midtown Meetup! We had great conversation over lemonade and cookies about how to make our community a stronger, safer, smarter place to live.

Some issues I heard about were addressing homelessness, domestic violence, behavioral health, long-term fiscal solutions, SNAP and other ways to stave off hunger, growing classroom sizes from a Special-Ed teacher, and more.

Please join us for the next one this Wednesday, June 14, noon, in my office at the Anchorage LIO - 1500 W. Benson Blvd, Room 325. Refreshments will be provided!

Playing Catch Up on Housing

During the past legislative session, I heard over and over about the need for new housing options in every community in Alaska. In Finance Committee, several entities presented about their historical and anticipated investments in new housing throughout the state. For the most part, the motivation to build new housing was related to ensuring a competitive environment to attract workers to fill needs like healthcare workers, miners, or teachers. Rarely, did we hear about building housing for the Alaskans we see setting up camp across the street from the corner Fred Meyers or the Alaskans who are living outside near the pond at the Cuddy Family Midtown Park. Anyone living in Anchorage can see that we need a far more comprehensive and immediate plan to address the houseless crisis was are facing today.

Since getting home from session, it has been a priority for me to get up to speed on what people in Anchorage are doing to resolve the causes of why so many people are living without a home. I am very grateful to have spent time with Assemblywoman Anna Brawley, Caroline Storm, Duke Russell, Roger Branson, and others who have dedicated hundreds of hours in the thick of efforts to build opportunities that Alaskans may support. They each shared their lessons and ideas for moving our community ahead, toward a future where all Alaskans are living a life of dignity. I have discovered that our integrated homeless response requires all of us, especially decision-makers, to understand the many stages of a response. Having a longer-term view of how to set up the houseless to go from conquering survival, to stabilizing, and then ultimately to sustainable housing. It is complicated, with many holes in the fabric of options that Anchorage is set up to provide. But that should not stop us from asking the very best of us as decision-makers who know the critical need for everyone to have a warm and safe space to sleep at night.

While we look for ways for big, long-term fixes, I have seen firsthand the beauty of kind people showing up to provide for those with less; treating them with grace and kindness. It is the sort of humanity that heroes are made of. Duke and Roger alone have fed thousands of Alaskans, even through COVID, on a shoestring budget.

For thousands of hours, they have been at ground zero at the Sullivan Arena, Centennial Park, 3^rd and Gambell, and other places, to offer a warm meal, sometimes camping goods, and a friendly hello. No judgement, just compassion. They’ve become so well-known for their sense of integrity and efficiency that restaurants and stores let them know when they have extra food. People donate socks, t-shirts, feminine products and the like. It is well known that Duke, Roger, and their team of ALL volunteers will get the food/products to those in need. Of course, popping up to serve a lovely warm meal at makeshift camps is not a long-term solution, but it serves up the sort of love and dignity that may keep the spirit up for many who are hanging on by a thread, some I spoke to felt rejected by family, friends, or society. In my mind, popping up and meeting people at their camps with food, new socks, music, and loving exchanges says ‘you matter’. But the sentiment may be fleeting, as is too much in their lives, because those of us with a say have still not found our way to a permanent solution, more appropriate and affordable housing.

We know that many families are one pay check away from losing their homes, and we must do better. I will continue to show up and learn, and I encourage all of you to do the same. The choices policy makers have to make will be tough. Everyone wants this resolved but sharing a bit of the burden with no easy solutions is our challenge. Throughout the nation, only the very brave politicians have taken a dive into permanent solutions.

Alaska Run for Women

There is nothing like the power of sisterhood at the Alaska Run for Women! Since 1993, this great event has been an Anchorage summer highlight to raise awareness and funding for breast cancer research. It was a honor to be there with Representatives Armstrong and Groh, passing out homemade lemonade and cheering on everyone racing to the finish.

If you'd like to learn more about their mission of strengthening women's health, click here

Last week at the Spenard Community Council, my staff and I were pleased to award Lindsey Hajduk with a Legislative Citation honoring her years of service to the Anchorage Community!

Lindsey has volunteered and served in many leadership roles in the community, and we commend her for her passion, advocacy, and dedication to making Anchorage a better place for everyone. Thank you, Lindsey!

"A great city is simply a collection of great neighborhoods"

- Anchorage community organizer Walt Parker

Are you interested in making a difference in your community? Joining your local community council is a great way to participate in government and local affairs. You can find your local community council by clicking here

We are working to develop identity-specific advisory boards so that I can better serve you as your Representative! I want to work with you by listening, learning, and developing policies that reflect the needs of your community. We would like to meet with interested groups once a month to discuss issues and bills that impact you.

We are interested to hear from Seniors, Millennials/Gen Z, young parents, business owners, members of the LGBTQIA+ community, and more. Please reach out if you're interested in participating in an advisory board!

🌟 Let’s celebrate the young heroes making a difference in our community. 💪

The Summer of Heroes program recognizes a handful of youth across Alaska who are doing positive things in their local communities. Selected youth will receive a $2,000 scholarship and recognition for their good needs – simply for being a positive force to those around them!

An investment in our youth is essential to building positive, healthy communities. Nominate your favorite youth today - it’ll only take about 30 minutes to do a good deed for a

kid who’s doing good deeds! The deadline is coming up, June 18, so do it today!

Get the nomination form here

Serving you,