The Faces of CIHA
Moving Toward Self-Sufficiency
Roderick and Georgiana O. and their 11- and 13-year-old daughters were homeless and sought shelter at McKinnell House. There they learned about CIHA and entered our Tenant Based Rental Assistance program using a Homeless voucher. Since their experience with homelessness and subsequent CIHA support, this family has made significant strides toward self-sufficiency. In fact, both adults are currently employed, with one employer offering family benefits in June. The O's now reside in an apartment of their own.
Their daughters are attending elementary and middle schools. Georgiana says it is so nice to have their own privacy—a place to call home. Family dinners are now possible thanks to their new living arrangement. And they don't have to travel so far to get to work and school.
The O's plan to maintain their current employment status, and have a goal to one day become homeowners using the Home Loan programs offered through CIHA and Cook Inlet Lending Center. Georgiana says they have talked about the responsibility and what they need to do to make it happen. They have followed through on the Family Self Sufficiency referral to Consumer Credit Counseling Services and have since developed an Action Plan to repair their credit and learn financial literacy skills that will benefit them in the future.
The O's say the staff at CIHA was very easy to work with and they felt like they could call at any time and ask for help. Carla Hellman, CIHA's Family Self Sufficiency Coordinator, was always willing to answer questions, check their file and make sure that they were fulfilling all of the requirements.
The lives of this family have certainly changed. No longer unsure of their future, they are on the road to security, stability and self-sufficiency.
Staff Spotlight: Gabe Layman
A lifelong Alaskan, Gabe was born in Dillingham and graduated from Palmer High School after moving to the Mat-Su Valley. In 2001, he received a Bachelor of Arts in Government from the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Va. He subsequently attended the Pennsylvania State University, Dickinson School of Law, where he earned the William H. Dodd Prize and the Conrad A. and Rocco C. Falvello Memorial Award. After receiving his law degree, Gabe returned home to Palmer and went to work for the Palmer Senior Citizens Center as an advocate for older Alaskans. He passed the Alaska Bar Examination in Feb. 2005 and began directing corporate legal affairs, managing community relations, and coordinating advocacy efforts aimed at promoting health and independence for older Alaskans. Gabe helped forge a partnership between the Palmer Senior Citizens Center and Cook Inlet Housing that resulted in the successful development of a 31-unit, $8 million senior housing project in Palmer. After collaborating with Cook Inlet Housing for just a short time, he became determined to join the CIHA team—which he did in March of 2007. Gabe currently serves as CIHA’s Senior Manager of Business and Legal Affairs.
Gabe's responsibilities include analyzing business strategies for CIHA and its subsidiaries, managing routine legal affairs, monitoring public policy developments, and coordinating advocacy efforts in response to proposed regulations and legislation. Gabe's passion is community activism, and he remains involved in the non-profit field on a volunteer basis as a member of the Boards of Directors of Matanuska Valley Federal Credit Union and Palmer-based Alaska Family Services. Not surprisingly, Gabe was recently named one of Anchorage's Top 40 Under 40.