There is no question that 2013 – our first year of sheltering youth – was an incredible year. The chorus, “Look what the Lord has done” comes to mind. What a year of growth! Sure, we can look to the number of youth that we saw, the awesome number of volunteers that we depend on, the many individuals and corporations that contribute financially… but In The Beginning, there was the Fairbanks Rescue Mission.

Let me explain.

In the fall of 2011, Fairbanks Youth Advocates (then Clearwater Ministries) intent to serve homeless youth was gaining momentum. A public meeting held October 25th, 2011, propelled our young agency front and center. We were nominated as potential recipients of a Community Development Block Grant – a grant that would fund the reconstruction of a building we owned to become a shelter for homeless youth.

During the following City Council meetings, the Council initially seemed unimpressed. We were a young agency, lacking history or experience in providing shelter to homeless teens. In the final discussion, the Council asked FYA to provide the City with a Guarantor in order to be considered for the Community Development Block Grant funds. Someone who would promise to carry us if we couldn’t meet the requirements set before us:

FYA will provide the City with a letter of guarantee from a person or entity providing that the project will be operated in accord with the terms of the grant if FYA defaults on grant performance standards.

We were down to the wire. We had one week to come up with a solution, a guarantor. I shared our struggle with members of the Fairbanks Homeless and Housing Coalition, and Rodney Gaskins, Executive Director of the Fairbanks Rescue Mission said, “come see me.”

At the following City Council meeting, together we submitted to the Council:

As a condition of receiving grant funds, FYA is required to provide the City with a letter of guarantee. Please accept this letter as a statement of guarantee.

 Should FYA, default on the performance standards under the terms of the Grant or under the MOU with the City of Fairbanks, Fairbanks Rescue Mission, Inc., guarantees that emergency shelter services for homeless youth will continue to be provided at 138 Tenth Avenue, Fairbanks, Alaska, under the terms and conditions set out in Resolution No. 4493, as Amended, and in the MOU for the five-year minimum term specified by the Grant.

Because of the Fairbanks Rescue Mission’s willingness to take a risk, teens have a shelter.

And one more thing; this risk was not just a risk of the governing board, or the administration of FRM, it was a risk taken by all their staff. Staff who wholeheartedly embraced us, who guided us in the challenges of providing shelter, and rejoiced and cried with us as we grew our way from crawling to toddling, to running. Every step of the way, they have served as our mentors, friends, and cheerleaders.

To The Fairbanks Rescue Mission, we will be eternally grateful, for YOU were there, In The Beginning.

Marylee Bates
Executive Director FYA