Solutions Desk

Anchorage has a plan to end homelessness, but its implementation is just beginning. As community leaders dig into the details of solving one of the city's toughest problems, getting everyone on the same page is bound to complicated. So they're starting with a conversation. But what do people who are homeless say?

Most people who go to prison in Alaska will eventually be released. To be successful on the outside, they need to develop new skills and outlooks. But what’s happening behind the walls to make that possible?

On Sept. 26, inmates, staff, and other community members gathered at Spring Creek Correctional Center in Seward to talk about life in prison, what’s helping people prepare for the future, and the prison’s role in the wider community.

Some solutions for housing are new, innovative small-scale projects. Others take quite a bit longer. To solve Alaska's housing shortage, some leaders say we need to learn from other states and get basic groundwork and policies in place. Here are some ideas. 

What's life like behind prison walls? How are people there trying to turn it into a place for positive change and restoration?

In September, Spring Creek Correctional Center in Seward, Alaska opened its doors for a community conversation with inmates, staff, and the public. All of the participants sat together in a circle for an open conversation. For many Seward community members, it was their first time at the prison. The event was part of Community in Unity, Alaska Public Media's community dialogue series.

In this short segment, we hear from three inmates about how life in the prison is changing and what the institution's superintendent thinks needs to happen to help them succeed. 

The full conversation will be released on Oct. 17. 

This month on the Solutions Desk we're taking a suggestion from a listener and exploring housing. In Nikolai, a small village on the Kuskokwim River, a lack of housing was leading to a lack of teachers. The school solved the problem by giving a group of students lots of life lessons.

Alaska's Department of Corrections is the largest mental health care provider in the state, and some officials are trying to make it the most effective. At Spring Creek Correctional Center trying to heal people with painted views and indoor "porches." 

When Rey Soto-Lopez entered prison, he knew he didn't want to be a criminal any more. But how was he supposed to change the way he thought and behaved when the corrections system repeatedly told him it just wasn't possible? Here's how.

For people to survive both inside and outside of prison, they need patience and a sense of responsibility. Those skills can be hard for people to teach, so at Wildwood Correctional Center in Kenai, Alaska, they've called in the help of the dogs. 

Former inmates who get good paying jobs are much more likely to succeed, but many leave prison without the skills they need to get very far. Alaska Department of Corrections is trying to change that, one carpentry class at a time.

When Food Stamps don't get you far at the expensive stores in rural Alaska, other food security programs might. But you have to be willing to try new things...