solutions desk conversations

What makes you want to stay in the community where you live? Is it easy to get around? Do you feel connected to your neighbors? Everything from building new playgrounds to giving people access to computers helps make a livable community.

Being incarcerated is hard. So is being released. How are people from rural Alaska connecting with their communities and their cultures while in prison, and preparing for what’s next? Listen to a conversation at Anvil Mountain Correctional Center in Nome.

A few years ago, residents of the Mat-Su Borough identified child abuse and neglect as one of the area's major problems. In response community organizations teamed up with government agencies, schools and judges to develop a comprehensive solution and build connections throughout the region. LISTEN HERE

Over the past few centuries in the United States, laws and policies have favored some racial and ethnic groups over others. It's led to racial inequity in Alaska and beyond. Now different groups are working together to educate people about these problems and develop solutions. LISTEN HERE

Many crimes are fueled by drug and alcohol addictions. So what can prevent some criminal activity? Helping people receive treatment. During Community in Unity: Recovery Behind Bars, inmates, staff, and other community members gathered inside Goose Creek Correctional Center near Wasilla to share stories about treatment, crime, and recovery.

Alaska's foster care system has problems. Caseworkers don't stick around for long. It can take years for young people to find permanent homes or be reunited with their families. But new legislation could provide solutions that will help everyone involved with the system. LISTEN HERE

Some people stay at Fairbanks Correctional Center for a few days. Others are at the pre-trial facility for years. Most of the inmates are living their lives in limbo — awaiting their trials and their futures. During Community in Unity: Life in Limbo, inmates, correctional center staff, and other community members sit together for an open conversation about the justice system, day-to-day life at FCC, and what's happening on the outside to help people who are released.

Adoption involves more than connecting children and parents -- is about navigating new relationships between families. On the next Talk of Alaska we'll speak with birth moms and adoptive moms about their experiences with adoption, how its changed over time and misconceptions about the process. LISTEN HERE

Suicide rates for Alaska Native youth are still high -- but groups are actively working to change that. Community members and researchers are focusing on the strengths of Alaska Native peoples and cultures to reduce the risk and promote wellness. Listen now

Thousands of Alaskans have been homeless, but the number would be much higher if organizations and individuals didn't work to prevent it. On the next Talk of Alaska we're discussing solutions for preventing homelessness, and why it affects everyone in the state, not just the families who experience it. LISTEN HERE