What others say: Youth homeless shelter provides vital service

  • Wednesday, July 2, 2014 5:55pm
  • Opinion

Along with melting snow, spring this year brought the opening of a long-awaited community resource: a shelter aimed at providing housing for the Interior’s homeless youths. On April 4, Fairbanks Youth Advocates celebrated the official opening of its new facility, known as The Door.

Officials at FYA said The Door arose out of an unfilled need in Fairbanks. Since the Fairbanks Native Association closed a similar facility nearly a decade ago, there had been no shelter options for homeless teenagers. Although many were able to find shelter with friends or family members, harsh Fairbanks winters made the societal issue a safety concern that couldn’t be ignored.

There are a surprising number of homeless teens in Fairbanks, though exact figures are hard to pin down. When FYA was drawing up plans for The Door, a Street Outreach and Advocacy Programs official estimated that about 800 youths in the area have no permanent residence.

Without basic needs like food and shelter addressed, more problems follow. Homeless youths are vastly less likely to graduate or even attend high school, and without a stable source of income many turn to petty crimes like shoplifting to provide the things they need or want. Those crimes in turn make it more difficult to find stable employment or housing, deepening both their cycle of homelessness and the costs society incurs in dealing with them.

The Door’s goal isn’t just to provide shelter. The facility and its volunteers work to help connect the youth they serve with resources to stabilize their housing situation, find jobs, or continue their education. They provide food, hygiene items, opportunities for recreation and positive activities.

While their new facility was under construction, FYA sponsored a temporary overnight shelter for 16 months in the basement of First Presbyterian Church downtown, serving close to 160 young people in need of a place to stay during that time. That shelter operated only during overnight hours, as church members used the building during the day. The Door, by comparison, operates 24 hours per day, seven days per week.

Like the youths who take shelter there, The Door’s basic needs have been met. Construction finished late last year, and state permits to operate came this spring. But the facility is needs items to provide further help, like clothing, food for the pantry, and various durable goods. You can check the FYA web page at www.fairbanksyouthadvocates.org to see the list of current needs.

Sometimes, when shelters like The Door are under discussion, budget-minded community members will express concern over their costs — even when, as in the case of FYA’s plan, the facility is financed not by local tax dollars but state block grants. Those concerns are legitimate, and an eye must always be kept on budgets to guard against waste. But it’s worthwhile, too, to include in that calculation the costs to the community of the facility’s absence. In the case of The Door, there is great value in changing the trajectories of young people who might otherwise become a burden both to the health of the community and a drain on its financial resources.

— Fairbanks Daily News-Miner,

June 28

More in Opinion

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

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

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.

A sign warns of the presence of endangered Cook Inlet beluga whales at the Kenai Beach in Kenai, Alaska, on Monday, July 10, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Opinion: Could an unnecessary gold mine drive Cook Inlet belugas extinct?

An industrial port for the proposed Johnson Tract gold mine could decimate the bay

Most Read