Housing and Homelessness
Juneau has always had difficulty delivering decent affordable housing to low-income citizens. Today, Juneau is Alaska’s most homeless city on a per-capita basis. We have 1.5 times the rate of Anchorage and 3 times that of Fairbanks. In fact, Juneau ranks as one of America’s most homeless communities, with a per capita rate three times that of Los Angeles County.
Over twenty years, SVdP developed, built and currently manages 101 apartments for low-income households of all types. These are located in six buildings in Downtown, Douglas and the Valley.
In all cases, the tenants of these apartments pay some level of rent. Many are working and self-pay the full rent-controlled rate. The Homeless and Transitional Housing is helped by the Thrift Store and donations. SVdP and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development also help support many of the other households through our rental assistance programs.
Transitional Housing
Requests for transitional housing far exceed our capacity. Our twenty-six unit transitional housing facility has a wait-list of well over 100 applications at any time. However, we stretch our resources and call on sister agencies and churches when faced with an especially compelling need. Call Scot at 789-5535 ext. 4.
Supportive Housing Programs
We manage two major supportive housing programs specific to Juneau. The Supportive Housing Program, provides permanent housing vouchers to four apartments located at our shelter. Supportive Housing for Very Low-Income Seniors provides permanent rental assistance for seniors at Smith Hall. In all, an average of 40 households per year are maintained in safe, decent permanent housing thanks to these programs.
Our Properties
For more information on any of the properties listed below call 789-5535 or email info@svdpjuneau.org.
Channel View
345 Gastineau Ave
Channel View Apartments sits at the top of Gastineau Channel looking across to Douglas Island. It was built in 2004 by Dan Austin and Channel View Inc, an alliance of AWARE, JAMHI, The Glory Hall, and attorney Stephen Sorenson, using low income housing tax-credits. Channel View consists of 22 apartments, all but two are one bedroom. First floor units have patios, upper floors have amazing views of the channel. Tenancy is limited to households who earn less than 50 or 60% of the Area Median Income. Channel View is a secure building, all utilities are included with rent, parking is $25/month, and laundry is $1/load. The downtown library and its bus stop are nearby. Staff is available on-site for after hours emergencies. CV is unusual in that it is built on a hillside with a parking lot built on stilts, so the main entrance, office, laundry room, and mailboxes are all on the 5th floor. There is an elevator and all apartments are ADA accessible. The building is protected by a retaining wall to stop mudslides and avalanches, but it doesn’t stop bears, which are common in the area. Many units have been remodeled since the 2016 fire in one of the units. All types of housing vouchers are accepted.
Paul’s Place
8617 Teal Street
Located on the 1st floor of our Shelter building, one block from the Nugget Mall bus stop. These 7 permanent low income apartments were built by Dan Austin in 2004 in the original location of the St. Vincent Thrift Store, which had just moved to its 2nd location on the other side of the building, where Ida’s Attic with its free clothes for the homeless is now located. Paul’s Place consists of 5 one bedroom and 2 two bedroom, ground floor, ADA accessible apartments and are restricted to low-income households who have recently been homeless. Paul’s Place shares a small playground with the Shelter and has its own laundry room with $1 laundry and plenty of free parking. All utilities are included with the rent. Staff is available on-site 24/7, seven days a week. All types of housing vouchers are accepted.
Strasbaugh
231 Gastineau Ave
One of Juneau’s most innovative affordable housing projects, built by the original Housing First in 1993 with low income housing tax-credits. Strasbaugh is 7 units of mixed efficiency, one and two bedroom units sharing the spectacular view from the top of Gastineau Avenue. It was acquired by St. Vincent de Paul through its merger with Housing First in 2013. These cozy units in a secure building include all utilities and each have a storage locker in the garage. Parking is free but limited and laundry is $1/load. Because of the building’s age, only 1 of the units is handicap accessible. A long stairway across the street provides access to the heart of Franklin St downtown. Like much of downtown, Strasbaugh is built in an avalanche zone, so a retaining wall was included during construction for protection, which saved the building from the 2009 mudflow. All types of housing vouchers are accepted.
Hillview
1801 Douglas Highway
Hillview apartments was built in 1996 by the original Housing First using both low income housing tax-credits and HOME funds and later acquired by St. Vincent de Paul in 2013 when the two companies merged. Hillview is 15 apartments, 6 efficiencies, 6 one bedrooms, and 3 two bedrooms spread between two buildings with stairs between them. All apartments open to the outdoors and share balconies and patio areas, including 2 laundry rooms with $1 a load laundry. Only 3 of the units are handicap accessible. All utilities are included in the rent. Because HOME funds were used during construction, tenant income requirements are lower, and rents are slightly lower than in our other buildings. There are beautiful views across the channel of downtown and Mt Roberts. There is plenty of free parking in both upper and lower parking lots. Just up the street is the Gastineau Meadows trailhead with its access to the Treadwell Ditch trail and the rest of the Douglas trail system. There is a bus stop in front of the building providing easy access to both downtown Douglas and Sandy beach in one direction and downtown Juneau in the other. All types of housing vouchers are accepted.
Smith Hall
8619 Teal St.
Smith Hall is a HUD 202 building for low income seniors built in 1998 by Dan Austin on land donated by the Smith family, which had a farm in the area. Seniors must be 62 or older and have annual income under 50% Area Median Income (about $35000). All 24 one-bedroom units are subsidized with seniors paying 30% of their income as rent, which includes all utilities. The building is three stories with eight apartments and a laundry room per floor, laundry is just 50 cents a load. There are plenty of beautiful communal areas for tenants on each floor, including a sun room, a puzzle room, a computer room, a plant room, an exercise area, and a meeting room communal book shelves. The St. Vincent main offices are on the main floor, helpful staff is available M-F 9am – 4pm. Staff and volunteers are also available onsite for emergencies after hours and weekends. There is a communal garden behind the building as well as free parking in the carport which also has storage lockers. The Nugget Mall bus stop is just one block away, and Ida’s Attic and a community navigator are available on the first floor of the St. Vincent Shelter next door. Across the street is a recently improved green way trail along Jordan creek which will take you to the Airport Shopping mall or near the airport itself. The new United Human Services non profit center and the new Glory Hall will also soon be built across the street. Smith Hall cannot take housing vouchers because each unit already comes with a subsidy, and the turnover rate is quite low so it does unfortunately have a long wait list.
Shelter
8617 Teal St.
The centerpiece of our Teal Street campus. This building was built in 1981 and was originally an Arctic Carpet. It was bought by the Society of St. Vincent de Paul in the mid-eighties and has served many purposes over the years: soup kitchen; offices; thrift store; day care; warming center; etc but always a family Shelter. That Shelter, on the second floor, has expanded over the years and is now the only all inclusive Shelter in Juneau taking in singles, couples, and families with kids, giving anybody a chance to get back on their feet. There are 26 unfurnished rooms with fridges, all roughly the same size, 250sq ft, each include a bathroom. Kitchen, shower, and laundry facilities are down the hall. Most of the rooms are transitional living, meaning there is a two year limit on the stay, though 4 rooms are considered permanent, and are subsidized and reserved for chronic homeless who are disabled. The building is secure and no visitors are allowed. The Shelter is drug and alcohol free and does not tolerate domestic violence. All residents are required to do a chore. The Shelter includes an elevator so all rooms are handicap accessible. Laundry is free and there are free book and movie areas, as well as a food pantry for those in need, and two playrooms for kids. Staff is available on-site 24/7. The Shelter wait list can be quite long, and we are reluctant to accept vouchers for transitional rooms.
Besides the Paul’s Place apartments mentioned elsewhere, the first floor of the Shelter now includes the Sobering Center run by the city, a maintenance area to support all 6 of our buildings, the Dan Austin Center which includes a community navigator and Ida’s Attic which provides free clothes for the homeless. Last but not least is our large community center with full kitchen, a space also used by our Thanksgiving and Christmas aid programs.