Housing and Homelessness

A forum with people from the documentary “The Flying University” and experts in the field.

The short film reveals a university class inside Juneau’s Lemon Creek Correctional Center that is led by Sol Neely, an English professor at the University of Alaska Southeast.

Click here to watch the full documentary

Interviews with inmates, former inmates, students, prison staff, the Department of Corrections, and Sol Neely explore the importance of education in prison, and addresses recidivism, reentry, and the need for justice reform.

The Alaska Prisoner Reentry Initiative (AK PRI) is a first step in creating a process, both inside and outside, to help returning Alaska prisoners reengage in their home communities. We know that most Alaska inmates will return to their home communities at some time—DOC is working to develop clear reentry plans for each inmate while they are still incarcerated, develop partnerships with community reentry coalitions for a “warm handoff” to the community, and critical partnerships within communities to make sure we have housing, jobs, treatment, educational and family services to assist returning citizens have the support needed to remain home and not recidivate. This presentation will discuss the initiative, the role of community coalitions, and the need for strong partnerships to assist in all aspects of creating healthy and welcoming communities. By working together and creating community support for all returning citizens we will have safer neighborhoods, better citizens, and stronger families.

The Steamdriven Thrift Shop is a for-profit business that trains and employs youth in the Mat-Su Valley as well as provides profits to be used for My House case management services. This session will discuss the Spirit of Youth award-winning business, how it was funded and became profitable.

 

The Alaska Council on the Homeless meets twice per year to fulfill its mission as a public policy forum for recommendations on the use of state and federal resources to address homelessness. These efforts are outlined in the States’ Ten Year Plan to End Homelessness. This plan sets out annual, five year and ten year goals and objectives and is updated on an annual basis.

Bill Block is the HUD Regional Administrator for Region X, serving Alaska, Idaho, Oregon and Washington. Bill began his career in Seattle as a lawyer focusing on complex real estate transactions on behalf of both private and public entities. In 2005 he left the law to become Director of the Committee to End Homelessness, where he was responsible for working with 70 local government, non-profit and for-profit entities, faith-based communities, philanthropies and formerly homeless people in implementing the 10 Year Plan to End Homelessness in Seattle/King County.  Among other civic involvements, he has served Chair of the Seattle Housing Authority Board of Commissioners when it planned and constructed HOPE VI projects, President of AIDS Housing of Washington (now Building Changes), Chair of the Seattle Center Advisory Commission, Chair of the Seattle Low Income Housing Levy Oversight Committee and board member of the Workforce Development Council of Seattle/King County.