Housing

Community members from across the Kenai Peninsula packed the Homer Theatre earlier this month for the Homeless in Homer film screening and discussion panel.

Rural areas are more likely to be poor, with limited transportation, making it that much harder for the homeless to get to a center that can provide counseling, a housing voucher or medical care.

In every state except for Rhode Island, the number of housing units increased between 2010 to 2014.

“We know we have a problem. What we need to know is, how can we get out of this?” says Greg Chaney, the city’s lands manager.

“It’s not as bad as it looks. Sometimes it gets cold in the winter, but they allow for us to have an extra blanket if it’s really cold out,” says inmate Catherine Fredrick, who lives in the tent.

Alaska Housing Finance Corp. offers a variety of loan and rebate programs aimed at upgrading the state’s aging housing stock.