Songs of sadness, anger and hope at memorial show for Steven Kissack that raises more than $4,600

A benefit show in memory of Steven Kissack, held Saturday night at a downtown saloon close to the location where the longtime unhoused Juneau resident was fatally shot last month, raised more than $4,600 on behalf of a local nonprofit seeking to assist other disadvantaged residents trying to reestablish their lives.

The multihour “Voices for Steve: A Memorial Benefit Show” at the Crystal Saloon featured ten musical performances by local artists — some singing songs written for the occasion — plus auctions of live art and an at-home meal by a professional chef. There were also a few speakers such as the head of Gastineau Human Services, which received the evening’s proceeds, and activists seeking to help other people avoid a repeat of the circumstances that led to Kissack’s death.

More than 100 tickets were sold to the show, and hundreds of dollars more were raised through the auctions, online donations and a percentage of the evening’s bar sales, said David Elrod, the booking agent for Crystal Saloon.

Kissack, 35, was shot by law enforcement officers during a confrontation where he was wielding a knife. He was known to many people who lived and worked downtown, in part due to his constant husky/malamute companion Juno who was at the scene during the shooting and since has been put up for adoption by Juneau Animal Rescue.

“He would walk past me and we’d see each other around town,” said Lisa Puananimōhalaʼikalani Denny, performing one of the early sets during the show, recalling her encounters with Kissack. “I’d see him every day and we gave each other a nod —you know, a nod in the night. And I heard the shots fired when I was working across the street at Deckhand Dave’s the following day. It’s pretty crazy.”

One of the songs she wrote was for Juno from the dog’s perspective, with lyrics that began: “Walking along the streets at night/As long as we’re together everything’s alright/I’ll follow you wherever you go/Because I’m your friend faithful Juno.” Near the end was the verse “Now you’re gone/Don’t know why/People love you/So did I.”

Another performer, Stewie Wood, said “I tried to pull out my hobo tunes for that hobo that we all miss very much.” Josh Fortenbery, later during the evening, said “we’re going to grieve together a little bit,” starting with a song he wrote for Kissack which provided details of his life story beginning with losing a parent as a child to his final moments on the street.

Some of the lyrics and speeches during the evening expressed anger at the officers who shot Kissack, questioning the necessity of their actions that are now subject to a state investigation that is standard procedure for officer-involved shootings. Salomé Starbuck, founder of the group Juneau Justice for Steve, said Kissack’s death “has become a lightning rod for transformative change in this community.”

“We will make sure this never happens again to anyone in our community,” she said. Goals include police accountability measures proposed in 2020 that were not adopted by city leaders, as well as working “to see this city house the unhoused in a considerate and inclusive way, allocate funding to comprehensive medical health care, mental health care services for the vulnerable and — where an armed police presence is escalatory rather than deescalatory — implement new systems for how contact is initiated with our at-risk communities.”

Many such efforts to help people experiencing homelessness, addiction recovery and other problems are being made at Gastineau Human Services, said Jonathan Swinton, executive director of the nonprofit. Among the organization’s facilities are transitional living facilities which it is trying to expand with a 51-unit single-occupancy residential building the Juneau Planning Commission is scheduled to consider a permit for on Tuesday.

“We have 80 people living on our campus who are in a position where no one’s given them a chance, and we’re helping them realize that there are some people who believe in them and that they can change,” Swinton said.

• Contact Mark Sabbatini at mark.sabbatini@juneauempire.com or (907) 957-2306.