VOA Alaska

Volunteers of America (VOA) was founded in 1896 by Ballington and Maud Booth, who pledged to “go wherever we are needed and do whatever comes to hand.”

At the time, the concept of “volunteering” meant serving others as a vocation. While our understanding of the term has evolved, our dedication to serving others has not.

In 1981, VOA arrived in Alaska to open a youth residential treatment facility in Eagle River. These humble beginnings have now led to over 40 years of empowering Alaska’s youth and families through recovery services, housing, and promoting healthy communities.

Today, VOA Alaska provides a full continuum of care, from education and early intervention, to peer support and care coordination, to mental health therapy, substance use counseling, and family therapy, to supportive housing and residential treatment. We are in schools, in the community, and supporting Alaskans statewide via telehealth.

Our strength-based and person-centered services promote wellness in all areas of a person’s life. Those in our care steer the course of their journey. We walk alongside them, providing connection and services designed to help them achieve their most meaningful goals.

As a non-profit, these services are offered at low- or no-cost, and no one is ever turned away due to an inability to pay. We are honored to be a part of the healing process for all people, families, and communities we serve.

VOA Alaska offers a range of services in person, in schools, in the community, and via telehealth to support a full continuum of care for Alaska’s youth, young adults, and families.

Community Coalitions
Advocating for policy changes alongside community partners and leaders to address youth substance use in our community with the VOA-led Anchorage Adolescent Substance Misuse Prevention Coalition and the Anchorage Suicide Prevention Coalition.

Prevention Education
Engaging youth in self-evaluation and equipping them with the tools they need to make healthier choices about drugs and alcohol with Prime for Life.

School-Based Mental Health
Providing on-site mental health and wellness support to students, staff, and families with VOA clinicians based in 11 schools throughout Anchorage.

Crisis Intervention & Care Navigation
On-call behavioral health support, interim services, and care navigation for youth, young adults, and families with clinicians and peer support specialists in Rapid Response.  

Family Services
Supporting all families with youth enrolled in VOA Alaska’s care through education, intervention, home-based services, and family therapy; with additional supports for Alaskans raising relative children.

Outpatient Mental Health & Substance Use Counseling
Supporting youth and young adults in learning coping skills, building resiliency, and improving their mental health and well-being. Outpatient telehealth is available to youth anywhere in Alaska.

Intensive Outpatient
Creating a safe space for youth and young adults struggling with drugs or alcohol to take charge of their recovery and maintain sobriety.

Day Treatment
Helping youth overcome barriers in their continued recovery by combining academic and therapeutic services in the Christopher Walden School of Hope.

Transition-Age Youth Services
Wraparound services for young adults aged 18-24, including housing assistance, mental health and substance use services, as well as employment and education support to build self-sufficiency.

Residential Treatment - ARCH
Empowering youth to address their substance use and co-occurring mental health challenges in a structured, therapeutic environment at the Adolescent Residential Center for Help (ARCH).