Areas of Focus: Peacebuilding and conflict prevention, Disease prevention and treatment, Water, sanitation and hygiene, Community economic development
Activity Type:
Health: General
Summary: Naming a Cabin in the Sitka Homeless Coalition Jarvis Street Project in Sitka, Alaska
At this year's 13th Annual Sitka Health Summit, a diverse group of 40 Sitkans, including several Rotarians, chose to make their highest priority ending homelessness by building a cabin-type community for Sitka's chronically homeless residents. The project is being spearheaded by the Sitka Homeless Coalition, a 501c3 non-profit. The concept is based on a report Agnew Beck Consulting published in 2020 that explains how building 14 tiny cabin units on land owned by the Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority would provide "enough, not more than what is needed" for Sitka's homeless residents. This report incorporated a needs and response assessment based on extensive interviews from Sitka stakeholders, such as the Baranof Island Housing Authority, the City of Sitka, the Salvation Army, Sitka Counseling & Prevention, and other homeless coalition projects conducted across the nation. Sitka Rotary would like to support this project because it will provide for the basic water, sanitation, and hygiene needs of those who would otherwise be living in the woods, in cars, or behind Sitka's buildings. This, in-turn, should improve our homeless population's health, and decrease the risk of diseases such as COVID being spread throughout our community. Sitka anticipates an unprecedented increase in cruise ship passengers this summer, and improving the lives of its homeless population will benefit tourists' experience, which will add to our community's economic development. If people have a good experience they will want to come back and spread the word to others considering their next vacation locale. The $12,000 in this project's funds will give Sitka Rotary naming rights to one of the 14 Jarvis Street cabins. The $12,000 will go towards building costs and Rotarians will be recognized on the permanent donor appreciation board. Our club will conduct a public brainstorming conversation for the name our cabin will be given. Given people's various views / biases on homelessness, we believe this brainstorming project, in addition to Rotary's recognition on the on permanent donor board, will be particularly helpful in building peace and conflict prevention among our club members and community.
Completed
This project is "Completed". This means the project has been implemented and the report was accepted by the district leadership. The project will stay listed on this website as a testimony of the achievements of the project partners.
