An affordable housing project of Juneau’s domestic and sexual violence shelter got a $350,000 boost last month from the Rasmuson Foundation. AWARE director Mandy Cole says that will pay for about a third of the project — seven apartments on Douglas Island.
“Smaller units, so efficiency units, and one-bedroom units are in constant demand and AWARE already operates 12 units of transitional housing,” Cole said.
“Our longest waitlist is always for the efficiency units.”
The structure is already in place — Cole and AWARE now have to build the inside of the units. She says this is part of a strategy called infill, where affordable housing is integrated into neighborhoods.
Cole says she’s seeking additional funding from other sources, too, like Alaska Mental Health Trust and the City and Borough of Juneau.
“We tried to find a way to build this facility with grant funding so … it could support itself and we could operate it at a very low cost to the tenants,” Cole said.
She says she hopes to have funding secured by construction season next year.
If you are experiencing any harm, domestic or sexual violence you can call AWARE’s crisis line at 1-800-478-1090.
