Some people hear snippets of our dream and vision and they automatically assume we intend to run a soup kitchen, shelter house, or community center out of our home. Those large scale community resources are needed, but we do not intend to be a large non-profit machine as the perfect solution to the problems of homelessness in Anchorage. 

    To borrow the phrase coined by Rosaria Butterfield, we plan to do "radically ordinary hospitality."

    First and foremost, this construction will be our personal and private residence, not a soup kitchen or community center. But the intention is to have a thoughtfully designed, efficient use of space in order to share our space and our resources in whatever way God may lead us on a daily basis through long-term, short-term, and open house hospitality. 
    - Long-term hospitality includes having a mother-in-law apartment in which we can house an individual, a couple, or a small family in need for as long as a couple of years. This dream could include housing a mother and child escaping an abusive situation; housing a young man upon reentry post incarceration along with his partner and small child, to help them establish trust with employers and landlords until they can thrive on their own; or housing an individual from the village needing a safe place to stay in Anchorage while receiving medical treatments. 
    - Short-term hospitality includes guests who enjoy overnight stays up to a one-month stay in extra guests rooms within our home. This could be as simple as out of state family touring Alaska staying in our home; to partnering with Beacon Hill and Safe Families to take in children temporarily in non-threatening situations to keep them out of the foster care system (as in the case of a parent needing medical procedures); to offering housing to a medical student in residency on rotation to Alaska for a few weeks. 
    - Open House hospitality may include anything from hosting Sunday-family-style dinners for church and neighborhood; hosting Bible studies; availability to offer a sandwich or a meal to anyone in need who happens by our home (this is often why people think we are trying to be a soup kitchen); and health and wellness coaching (continued below). 

    Secondly, as a part of our "open house" style hospitality, we do hope to have a gym, lap pool, and wellness center (this is often why people think we are trying to be a community center) for personal training, nutrition coaching, life coaching, counseling, and mobility and general fitness training. The plan would be to offer highly affordable (through reduced rates and/or scholarships) health and wellness training with first priority being given to caregivers and their charges. By coaching caregivers how to safeguard their health and be renewed and energized in body, mind, and spirit, they can thrive in their given ministry, task, and service of caring for others. 

    While we do want our home to make a positive impact on our community, our goal is realistic and attainable for one family and their family home: help one person at a time. In this innovative approach of a return to "old-fashioned" values of neighbor helping neighbor, we hope to make a long-term positive impact on our community.