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 113 Filming and soul searching with Gary Milton
Chatter Marks EP 45 Revolutionizing how people see and understand Alaskan cuisine with Rob Kinneen
EP 112 The Boarderline Days with Matt Eastman
EP 111 Johnny’s Girl, a neon Anchorage and a life of her own with Kim Rich
Chatter Marks EP 043 Digging for Alaskana with Jimmy Riordan
EP 110 Breaking out the Theraflu with Andre Spinelli
Chatter Marks EP 042 Navigating two different cultures with Nyabony Gat
Chatter Marks EP 041 The things beyond our sensorial understanding with LaMont Hamilton
Chatter Marks EP 40 Infusing life and art with Charles J. Tice
EP 109 A journey of pain and forgiveness with Elishaba Doerksen
Chatter Marks EP 039 Searching for community with Young Kim
EP 108 Overcoming the traps in my mind with Sydney Eubanks
Chatter Marks EP 038 Living Traditional Values and Innovating Indigenous Design with Rico Worl
EP 107 Doing dangerous things as safely as possible with Dane Ferguson
Chatter Marks EP 037 A life of activism with Cal Williams
Chatter Marks EP 036 Atomic Landscapes with Photographer Ben Huff
EP 0105 When a story gives itself to you with James Dommek, Jr.
Chatter Marks EP 034 Building an Alaska-grown business with Jennifer Loofbourrow
EP 104 A career of reporting on Alaska hockey with Doyle Woody
Chatter Marks EP 033 How a lifetime in philanthropy led to archiving the Black experience in Alaska with Julie Varee
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