Things are quickly taking off.  Though it would seem to be common sense, getting a shelter off the ground is a lot of work.  We have three dedicated, full-time volunteers and a working Board of Directors, as well as numerous community volunteers, but the work to be done is considerable.  Just to get ‘the Door‘ open, staffed, funded, and developed.

And then? Then we thought; lets open a temporary shelter.  For this winter. We have to.  We can’t not.

When we realized ‘the Door,’ our emergency youth shelter, wouldn’t be ready to open this winter, we were paused.  We were grateful to receive renovations from a grant through the City of Fairbanks, but heartsick that it meant Fairbanks’ youth would have to suffer through another winter without safe shelter.

So we sat and thought about it for a little while.  And then we called together some community organizations to tell them where we were, in the shelter timeline, and to brainstorm possible solutions.  They all agreed; we have the resources, we can’t let youth try to survive out there on their own.  In this meeting, we were blessed to see minds and hearts come together to churn up ideas.  Perspectives came from across the community, with various concerns, views, and ideas, from the police department to foster parents, the school district, Fairbanks Native Association, Access Alaska, and many others.  As a community, we discussed the solutions that were most likely to work to provide the best shelter for our teens, given the shortage of time before the snow falls.

They gave us a handful of sound ideas and we hit the ground running.

Suddenly we’re researching and developing policies, discussing shelter space with community leaders, recruiting volunteers and speaking to the community about our most recent goals.  We’re working hard and fast to ensure that this Winter Shelter is fully developed, staffed, and planned before it opens this winter.  We know there is much to be done.  From our side, that means research and writing and paperwork and planning and checking and double-checking and lots of teamwork and chocolate.

It also means sharing our needs with the community, and reaching out to them for support.  Together, we can make a difference.

See our immediate needs list for items we’ll need for this ‘Winter Alternatives‘ project.  Donate to help us purchase additional supplies (we are currently completely donor-funded).  Check out our volunteer page for information about ways to serve with us or apply to help supervise youth this winter.