While many people attended holiday parties Friday night, Juneau\u2019s shelter and soup kitchen held a somber event.<\/p>\n
\u201cNational Remembrance Day commemorates people who died while experiencing homelessness in the past year,\u201d Glory Hole executive director Mariya Lovishchuk said by phone. She had five people from Juneau on her list.<\/p>\n
This time of year with its long, dark nights is tough on the Glory Hole and its clients.<\/p>\n
\u201cOn one hand, there\u2019s an outpouring of gifts from the community to the Glory Hole, but it\u2019s also the coldest and darkest time of the year,\u201d she said. \u201cThe general feeling is that it\u2019s sad and it\u2019s scary. A lot of people cannot be with their families because of issues that have alienated them from their families. A lot of families don\u2019t have a house, so it\u2019s definitely a very bittersweet season at the Glory Hole because you see the best and worst.\u201d<\/p>\n
The shelter\u2019s resources are often stretched thin during the holiday season. The 40-bed facility is currently sleeping 47 people. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe outreach coordinator is a lot busier finding people stable housing and ensuring that we have as much room as possible in the shelter. Also, outreaching to people who are on the street definitely spikes up because the stakes are so much higher in this weather,\u201d Lovsihchuk explained.<\/p>\n
This is also the time of year Lovishchuk starts to get nervous. Every year, the shelter relies on the community to make up a big chunk of its operating budget. Of the $180,000 the Glory Hole expected to raise from community donations, it\u2019s about $59,000 short.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis money would keep the doors open. A lot of this money pays for salaries, food for our meal program and pays for repairs. We have a lot of people coming through the facility every single day and we just have wear and tear, things that we need to deal with on a weekly basis \u2014 showers break, door handles break, we need to replace faucets so we can wash dishes \u2014 things like that,\u201d Lovishchuk said.<\/p>\n
If the shelter doesn\u2019t raise the money, it would be forced to dip into an account that has about eight months of operational savings and has taken years to raise, Lovishchuk said, \u201cbut we\u2019d be hesitant to do that because I don\u2019t think next year or the year after that are going to be any better than this year. I think it\u2019s going to be a lot worse.\u201d<\/p>\n
To help the shelter raise the needed funds, several individuals and entities within the Alaska Native community are holding the 2nd Annual Glory Hole Fundraiser on Tuesday from 5 to 7:30 p.m. at the Elizabeth Peratrovich Hall on West Willoughby Avenue. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe just see the need all the time. It\u2019s all around us and we want to do something,\u201d Nancy Barnes of the Yees.ku.oo dance group said on the phone Friday.<\/p>\n
Last year, hundreds of people attended and the event raised more than $30,000 in just a few hours. <\/p>\n
\u201cPeople are putting signs up all over and making phone calls. We have someone going door-to-door to vendors to get auction items and door prizes,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
The event will feature dance performances by Woosh.ji.een, Yees.ku.oo and All Nation Children dance group, and there will be fry bread for sale.<\/p>\n
\u201cLast year, we ran out. We have a lot more this year,\u201d Barnes said, laughing. <\/p>\n
\u201cIf people are busy that night and they want to just come down and donate, the hall will be open starting around 1:30 p.m.,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n
Lovishchuk called the fundraising effort amazing.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt takes the whole town of Juneau to make the Glory Hole operate. I\u2019m just so grateful for that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2022 Contact reporter Lisa Phu at 523-2246 or lisa.phu@juneauempire.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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