Editorial: Bringing the message home

  • By Peninsula Clarion Editorial
  • Monday, January 29, 2018 11:33am
  • Opinion

When you go to bed tonight, will you be warm enough? Will you have been able to wash up and brush your teeth? When you get up tomorrow morning, will you have something to eat?

Those are questions that many people in our community struggle with on a daily basis. On Wednesday, the annual Homeless Connect event at the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex attempted to help more than 100 members of our community with some of those answers.

The nature of homelessness on the Kenai Peninsula is different than it is elsewhere. It’s not as visible. While there are some people living in tents in the woods, we don’t often see panhandlers on street corners.

Instead, we see people who bounce from one temporary situation to another. The Kenai Peninsula School District on its website defines homeless youth as “students who lack a permanent, stable, and adequate place to sleep at night. This can include students who are living in a shelter, hotel, tent, or car, students that are ‘doubled-up’ with extended family members or friends because of financial difficulty, youth not living with their parent or legal guardian, or those in ‘substandard’ housing.”

Past studies have found between 400 and 500 homeless individuals on the Kenai Peninsula at any given time, but also noted the number is difficult to pin down.

The reasons that individuals and families find themselves homeless are varied, a large part of why addressing the situation is so difficult. Causes of homelessness could be a lack of employment or financial hardship, but could also include substance abuse issues, domestic violence, mental illness, medical conditions and disabilities. In other words, homelessness is just one of many challenges a displaced person or family may be facing.

And that’s another part of what makes homelessness such a difficult issue to address. Those who try to help will discover that things are complicated, that there are no neat and tidy solutions. Finding a stable living situation is just one part of the equation, but a necessary step before anything else can fall into place.

We’re grateful to the organizers of the Homeless Connect event for not just helping those in need, but also for raising awareness of the issue for the rest of our community. Because homelessness is not as visible here as it is elsewhere, it can be easy for the rest of us to overlook — yet there’s hundreds of people in our community who aren’t sure if they will have a warm place to sleep tonight, or something to eat before they go to bed.

And we’re grateful for all those who are willing to help. We’d like our readers to take to heart the words of Aleea Faulkner, a Girl Scout from Kenai who collected 800 pairs of socks to be donated to those in need. She and her fellow scouts attached notes to each pair, “Just to let everyone know we care.”

Homelessness on the Kenai Peninsula is a challenging issue. But knowing there are people who care gives us hope that we can make it better.

More in Opinion

A state plow truck clears snow from the Kenai Spur Highway on Wednesday, Nov. 2, 2022, in Kenai, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Opinion: Use of the brine shows disregard for our community

It is very frustrating that the salt brine is used on the Kenai Peninsula often when it is not needed

Therese Lewandowski. (Photo provided)
Point of View: Inflation, hmmm

Before it’s too late and our history gets taken away from us, everyone should start studying it

A cherished "jolly Santa head" ornament from the Baisden Christmas tree. (Photo provided)
Opinion: Reflections of holidays past

Our family tradition has been to put up our Christmas tree post-Thanksgiving giving a clear separation of the holidays

Screenshot. (https://dps.alaska.gov/ast/vpso/home)
Opinion: Strengthening Alaska’s public safety: Recent growth in the VPSO program

The number of VPSOs working in our remote communities has grown to 79

Soldotna City Council member Linda Farnsworth-Hutchings participates in the Peninsula Clarion and KDLL candidate forum series, Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024, at the Soldotna Public Library in Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Erin Thompson/Peninsula Clarion)
Opinion: I’m a Soldotna Republican and will vote No on 2

Open primaries and ranked choice voting offer a way to put power back into the hands of voters, where it belongs

Nick Begich III campaign materials sit on tables ahead of a May 16, 2022, GOP debate held in Juneau. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire file photo)
Opinion: North to a Brighter Future

The policies championed by the Biden/Harris Administration and their allies in Congress have made it harder for us to live the Alaskan way of life

Shrubs grow outside of the Kenai Courthouse on Monday, July 3, 2023, in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Opinion: Vote yes to retain Judge Zeman and all judges on your ballot

Alaska’s state judges should never be chosen or rejected based on partisan political agendas

A vintage Underwood typewriter sits on a table on Tuesday, Feb. 22, 2022, at the Homer News in Homer, Alaska. (Photo by Michael Armstrong/Homer News)
Point of View: District 6 needs to return to representation before Vance

Since Vance’s election she has closely aligned herself with the far-right representatives from Mat-Su and Gov. Mike Dunleavy

The Anchor River flows in the Anchor Point State Recreation Area on Saturday, Aug. 5, 2023, in Anchor Point, Alaska. (Delcenia Cosman/Homer News)
Opinion: Help ensure Alaskans have rights to use, enjoy and care for rivers

It is discouraging to see the Department of Natural Resources seemingly on track to erode the public’s ability to protect vital water interests.

A sign directing voters to the Alaska Division of Elections polling place is seen in Kenai, Alaska, Monday, Oct. 21, 2024. (Photo by Erin Thompson/Peninsula Clarion)
Vote no on Ballot Measure 2

A yes vote would return Alaska to party controlled closed primaries and general elections in which the candidate need not win an outright majority to be elected.

Derrick Green (Courtesy photo)
Opinion: Ballot Measure 1 will help businesses and communities thrive

It would not be good for the health and safety of my staff, my customers, or my family if workers are too worried about missing pay to stay home when they are sick.