Frontier Community Services

08/07/2026

🎣 Dan caught a good one on the Kenai!

Nothing beats fresh air, a little patience, and the excitement of finally feeling that tug on the line. What a great catch and an even better memory made along the way!

Way to go, Dan! 🙌🐟

08/06/2026

🌲 Partnership in Action! 🌲

Yesterday’s Activities Club and TRAILS Committee partnership meeting was a wonderful success! We had an amazing turnout and loved seeing everyone connecting, participating, and having fun together. Joe Lunn also joined us but had to leave before the photos so he deserves a shoutout too!

A highlight of the afternoon was Mr. McIntosh’s introduction to karate and self-defense. He has offered to host an adaptive group class that can be done standing, sitting in a chair, or even on the floor making it accessible to people with a wide range of abilities.

We need at least five participants to schedule the class! If you or someone you support is interested, please speak with your advocate or contact Renie at the front office.

We also started dreaming up activities for next summer but we’ll save those announcements for another day. 👀

These are the moments that create friendships, build confidence, and strengthen our community. Thank you to everyone who made this partnership such a success!

Happy Trails! 🌲😊
Living Center

08/06/2026

08/05/2026

LONG- And worth the read. If your doom scrooling on this Sunday evening mine as well take a gander and support this initiative.

Alaska Association on Developmental Disabilities

August 2026 Newsletter

Disability rights are under attack but we are not powerless

By Kim Champney

AADD Executive Director

I stole this headline from veteran community organizer and leader of the National Alliance for Direct Support Professionals Joe Macbeth. I hope he doesn't mind ;).

We are certainly living during a time of uncertainty - the Olmstead decision, which opened the doors of community to thousands of people in institutions, is being questioned. Fraud, waste and abuse discussions are overpowering conversations about inclusion, employment first, and universal access. Section 504 which requires states to offer community options, is in the courts.

But as Joe says - we are not powerless. He highlights the power of direct support professionals as voters, advocates, family members and trusted voices in our communities. And I would add that the organizations that employ DSPs also check all those boxes. According to SDS's FY25 Continuum of Care chart (the most recent available), 30,323 Alaskans received some sort of service via a variety of programs - grants, state Medicaid plan, HCBS waivers and nursing homes. If you assume each of those individuals has 1-2 family members or friends connected to them, that's another 30-60,000 Alaskans. Then there are all the DSPs and other caregivers, care coordinators, and service providers - let's guess approximately 30,000 (a conservative estimate). We are talking 120,000 Alaskans touched in some way by the disability service system. Not every person receiving supports is able to vote based on age or ability but many people can. So let's say 100,000 potential voters in the disability community. In the 2024 general election - a total of 178,716 ballots were received by the State of Alaska.

Do you see that power? If every eligible and able voter in the disability community voted for candidates that support a robust, community-based, flexible service system, it would make a difference.

We have power. In this time of uncertainty I urge us all to take action. Vote AND support someone else to vote. It will make a difference.

Resources - how to support voting

AADD has partnered with the Alaska Voter Hub this year to support voter education. The Alaska Voter Hub is a coalition of nonprofits, community groups, and individuals working together to strengthen democracy through the collective power of voting. Here's their mission: Through voter engagement and non-partisan education, we empower Alaskans in every community to participate in elections at every level.

On July 30 AADD hosted a Hot Topic that included presentations by Alaskans for Better Elections and the Disability Law Center. That recording is available here. The powerpoint from the presentation by Alaskans for Better Elections available here.

Here's a list of key takeaways useful to disability service providers when supporting someone to vote:

Check voter registration - did you know that every Alaskan who receives a PFD check is registered to vote? However, advocates recommend confirming this - mistakes are made. You can quickly confirm if someone is registered to vote at myvoterportal.alaska.gov. All you need is their name and city. This site will also tell you where the person can vote. Important note! If you go to vote and your name is not on the registered voter list, you can still complete a question ballot.

Absentee Ballot Request - You do not have to leave your home to vote. It's easy to request an absentee ballot to be mailed to your home. This may be the best option for someone who is reluctant to go to the polls or may have transportation challenges. To request an absentee ballot go to this site: www.elections.alaska.gov/voter-information/absentee-and-early-voting/ . Deadline to request an absentee ballot for this year's Primary is August 8. Deadline to request an absentee ballot for this year's General is October 24. Also if someone requests an absentee ballot and then decides to go to the polls to votes, this is perfectly fine. Just make sure you don't vote twice!

Sample Ballot - voting is not a closed book test! You can download a sample ballot here - www.elections.alaska.gov/sample-ballots. A person can complete their sample ballot at home and bring it to the polls with them to use as a guide.

Ballot Builder Tool - Ballot Builder is an online resource that supports decision-making by comparing the candidates' opinions on a variety of topics. The user can compare comments based on topic and star the candidate they agree with. The tool will tally all the "likes" and create a list of preferred candidates. Available here.

Early Voting Locations - Most communities around Alaska offer early voting 15 days prior to the election day. It may work better for someone to vote when there's not a crowd at the polls. For a list of early voting locations, click here.

Make a voting plan now - for yourself, with someone you support, for employees of your organization. Let's Count Us In this election.

Still looking for people!

Get paid to encourage people to vote

The Voter Hub has launched a statewide, nonpartisan Paid Relational Organizing Program ("Mobilizer Program") for the 2026 election cycle.

The idea is simple: people are far more likely to vote when a friend, family member, or neighbor encourages them — not a stranger with a script. Mobilizers get paid to reach out to their own personal networks (friends, family, coworkers) with nonpartisan voting information, using an app provided by The Voter Hub during the six outreach windows with varying levels of compensation:

Primary Registration July 13–19 $75

Primary Plan to Vote July 29–Aug 2 $75

Primary Get Out The Vote Aug 15–18 $100

General Registration Sept 28–Oct 3 $75

General Plan to Vote Oct 14–18 $75

General Reminder to Vote Oct 31–Nov 3 $100

While some of the deadlines have passed - they are still recruiting for mobilizers.

Mobilizers are paid after documenting 30 qualifying contacts per round, and can also earn referral bonuses for recruiting others. Because Alaska Voter Hub is a 501(c)(3), the program is strictly nonpartisan — no candidate or party messaging is permitted, and outreach is monitored for compliance.

This could be a meaningful opportunity for self-advocates, DSPs, family members, or anyone in our network who wants to help ensure Alaskans — including people with disabilities — are registered, have a plan, and get to the polls.

For more details on this opportunity, click here. Questions? Email the contact coordinator Becca Stern - [email protected].

Resource Links

• Check your voter registration and polling location: myvoterportal.alaska.gov

• Request an absentee ballot or find absentee and early-voting information: www.elections.alaska.gov/voter-information/absentee-and-early-voting/

• View and download sample ballots: www.elections.alaska.gov/sample-ballots

• Watch the July 30 AADD Hot Topic recording: Use the “here” link above.

• View the Alaskans for Better Elections PowerPoint: Use the “here” link above.

• Access the Ballot Builder Tool: Use the “Available here” link above.

• Find early-voting locations: Use the “click here” link above.

• Learn more about the Alaska Voter Hub Mobilizer Program: Use the final “click here” link above.

• Mobilizer Program questions: [email protected]

08/05/2026

The video of Molly did not upload. Here is the revised post.

08/03/2026

Sexual health care should be easy to access and easy to talk about.

Starting August 5, the Kenai Public Health Center will offer Express STD Testing every Wednesday from 12:00–4:00 p.m.

No appointment needed—just walk in.

📍 630 Barnacle Way, Kenai
📞 907-335-3400
Results are expected within 1–2 weeks.

Other sexual health services are also available by appointment most days.

Department of Health

07/31/2026

One year ago, Michelle Davidson became her own guardian after fighting hard for the right to direct her own life.

That moment meant more than a legal change. It meant independence. It meant self-determination. It meant having her own voice recognized and respected.

Since then, she has done nothing but soar including presenting across the United States and showing exactly what is possible when a person is trusted with the freedom to lead their own life and joined the Frontier Community Services Board of Directors!!!

We are so proud of all she has accomplished and all the ways she continues to grow, lead, and inspire.

07/30/2026

Are you 16–24 and looking for work—but not sure where to begin?

Pathways PREPP through the KPC Learning Center may be able to help with:

✅ Paid work experience—up to $5,000
✅ Paid vocational training
✅ Help finding work that matches your skills and interests
✅ Possible support with gas, tuition, housing and other training needs

This program may be a good fit for young adults who are not currently in high school or college and are unemployed or not getting enough work hours.

Call 907-262-0327, email [email protected], or scan the QR code on the flyer to learn more.

Peninsula College

07/30/2026

If you're leading anything right now — a program, a team, an entire organization — there's a decent chance you're carrying more than you're letting on.

That's not a diagnosis. It's just the job. And most leadership content stops at "acknowledge your feelings," which is true, helpful, and also somehow never quite enough. Naming the overwhelm doesn't make the caseload smaller or the budget stretch further. So then what?

I got to sit with two leaders in Alaska recently who've clearly wrestled with this same question, and the pattern in what they said wasn't "push through it" or "just think positive." It was something closer to: change what you're framing the problem as, and change what you're feeding your own brain while you do it.

One of them put it simply — happiness isn't found once you've cleared the to-do list. It's found somewhere in the actual climb, mess and all. Which is either deeply wise or extremely annoying, depending on the day you're having 😳. (Ask me how I feel about it on a Monday versus a Friday.)

The other leader talked about something more practical: she went looking for a mentor, and later helped build a peer cohort of other executives wrestling with the exact same stuff. Her reasoning was almost embarrassingly simple — most leaders assume everyone else has it figured out, and they don't, and just hearing "oh, you too?" from another exec does something a strategic plan never will.

So if you're in the thick of it right now, here's the reframe worth trying: overwhelm usually isn't a sign you're failing. It's often just a sign you're the only one holding a problem that was never meant to be held alone. The move isn't to grit your teeth harder — it's to go find the person, the peer group, or the fresh perspective that helps you see the actual system underneath the chaos, instead of just the chaos itself.

You don't need to have that all figured out today. You just need one new input this week — one conversation, one different room, one person outside your four walls who might see something you can't.

07/30/2026

Please join us in congratulating Cheryl Carattini, our Community Waiver Program Coordinator, as Frontier Community Services' July Employee of the Month!
Cheryl was nominated by the guardian of an individual she supports through our Community Waiver Program. Recently, Cheryl had the opportunity to accompany this individual to the Special Olympics Summer Games in Anchorage, where she helped create an experience filled with encouragement, inclusion, and success.
The guardian shared how much it meant to know their loved one was safe, supported, and given every opportunity to grow and thrive. Cheryl's dedication allowed this individual to fully participate in an unforgettable event and experience the joy of being celebrated for their accomplishments.
For Cheryl, this experience was equally meaningful. It was a reminder of one of the greatest privileges of our work—walking alongside the people we support as they achieve their goals, build confidence, and experience true community inclusion.
Cheryl, thank you for the compassion, dedication, and heart you bring to your work each day. Your commitment to the people we support reflects the very best of Frontier Community Services. Congratulations on being selected as our July Employee of the Month! We are proud to celebrate you and the difference you make in the lives of others.