In this one, Cody and co-host Aurora Ford talk to Heidi Huppert. Aurora is a former journalist and currently works at Covenant House Alaska; Heidi is the Chief Program Officer at Covenant House. Heidi’s perspective on homelessness in Alaska is unique because, in her younger years, she spent time on the streets of Anchorage. Her mom had a violent and abusive boyfriend and Heidi didn’t feel safe at home. So, one night after an especially brutal domestic situation, she found herself wandering around Spenard, trying to figure out what she was gonna do. She was about 12 years old and she had school in the morning. Because it was open and because it was familiar, she ended up just hanging out at McDonald’s.
She says that, for a long time, she didn’t tell her story. It was just too hard to relive those memories, and the violence and the pain that came with them. But right now, she’s at a point in her life where she sees how much power and strength there is in telling her story. How it can potentially help a young person understand that they might be in the middle of the worst moment or moments of their life, but it won’t last forever. Things can get better.
Heidi says that the issues of homelessness and human trafficking — another issue that she deals with a lot at work — are ones that we have to care about because they involve young people and they are the future of Alaska. They will one day hold the political, economic and social power. So, if we want our state to be healthy, we have to care about what is happening to our young people.
EP 039 with Josh Poe
EP 038 with Alice Glenn
EP 037 with Mark Landvik
EP 036 with Ben Sullender
"lost anchorage" EP 04 with Heidi Hill
EP 035 with Evan Philips
EP 034 with Dr. Fermento
EP 033 with Jason Borgstede
EP 032 with Andy Elsberg
"lost anchorage" EP 03 with Laura Norton-Cruz
"lost anchorage" EP 02 with Allan Barnes
"lost anchorage" EP 01 with Aaron Roberts
EP 031 with Jeremy Blake
EP 030 with Cliff Groh
EP 029 with Jay Liska
EP 028 with Keezy
EP 027 with Mike Thompson
EP 026 with Julia O'Malley
EP 025 with Mike Gordon
EP 024 with Tubby
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