The Teal Street Center, soon to be a combined home for many of Juneau’s social service providers, received a $1.25 million financial package in funding from the Rasmuson Foundation.
The package includes $750,000 in grant funding and a $500,000 low-interest loan, which brings the total collected to more than half the funding required for the entire project, according to a news release from the center.
“We are thrilled by the faith in this project shown by the Rasmuson Foundation and its endorsement of Teal Street Center’s mission to meet critical human needs in our city and region,” said Joan O’Keefe, executive director of United Human Services, in the release. “This is a significant milestone for a project many have dreamed of for nearly 20 years, and it will allow us to move forward to break ground this fall.”
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The center will exist adjacent both to the new Glory Hall which opens this week and to St. Vincent de Paul’s low-income elderly housing and transitional housing.
“Convenient, accessible social service delivery next door to the new Glory Hall will help us address vital community needs,” said Glory Hall executive director Mariya Lovishchuk. “Teal Street Center is the key to successfully bringing together programs and services on one central campus for improved outcomes.”
The “one-stop shop” approach to social service organizations combined with its proximity to shelter and transitional housing is expected to significantly improve access to those services for whom transportation to the formerly widely-scattered organizations may have been difficult. The city is also looking at moving a bus stop to the street, improving ease of access yet further, Lovishchuk said.
Alaska Legal Services, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Alaska, Cancer Connection, Disability Law Center of Alaska, National Alliance for Mental Illness Juneau, Juneau Suicide Prevention Coalition, Southeast Alaska Independent Living and the United Way of Southeast Alaska will ll have office space in the building.
The combined facility is intended to maximize resource effectiveness and facilitate collaboration between the organizations, many of which address related problems, according to the center. The TSC is estimated to serve more than 2,000 people a year.
Alaska AIDS Assistance Association, Bartlett Regional Hospital Community Housing Navigator, Southeast Regional Resource Center- Alaska’s Educational Resource Center, State of Alaska Vocational Rehabilitation and the SouthEast Alaska Regional Health Consortium will also use the resource rooms at the TSC to bring service providers directly to those who need it.
The TSC’s total coast is expected to be approximately $6.5 million, according to the center. Groundbreaking for the project is expected to occur this autumn.
• Contact reporter Michael S. Lockett at (757) 621-1197 or mlockett@juneauempire.com.
