The Arc of Anchorage

How We Can Help

The Arc of Anchorage helps Alaskans who experience intellectual, developmental disabilities, or mental illness achieve lives of dignity and independence as valued members of our community. We offer a full array of services that cover the lifespan of the people we serve. In consultation with our staff, families choose the services that best meet their needs.

If you are interested in our services please click here.

Behavioral Health Services – Serves children and adults with a mental illness or severe emotional disturbance (SED) in combination with a developmental disability. Supported parenting services are available for parents who experience developmental disabilities or mental illness. Substance abuse counseling is available for those who experience developmental disabilities in combination with a mental illness and an addiction.

Care Coordination – Assists people with Medicaid waivers and their families learn about and choose among services, based on their needs and goals, then monitors implementation of the plan.

Community Living Services – Provides support that encourages independence and participation in the community, allowing adults with developmental disabilities to live on their own, with roommates, and/or staff. Also offers in-home assistance and respite care for children with developmental disabilities or complex medical conditions who live with their families or with foster families.

Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services – Daily support in a residential setting for students attending the State School for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing.

Nursing Services – Trains parents and care providers so they can create a safe, healthy environment that allows children with complex medical conditions to leave the hospital and live at home with their families. Provides intensive active treatment for adults to avoid institutionalization and continue living at home and participating in community life.

Recreation Services – Offers older teens and adults the opportunity to learn new skills, make friends, and participate in a wide variety of community activities.

Short Term Assistance and Referral (STAR) – Provides information about the services available and connects people with the resources they need. Helps families apply for funding from the State of Alaska. Helps find solutions during crises and emergencies.

Supported Employment – Assists adults in finding and keeping jobs in the community. Helps each individual gain the daily living and on-the-job skills necessary for successful employment.

The Arc of Anchorage is a private, not-for-profit organization dedicated to serving children and adults who experience developmental disabilities or mental health issues so they can lead rich, full, satisfying lives of dignity and purpose.

The Arc of Anchorage is a chapter of The Arc of the United States, a grassroots organization with more than 140,000 members who are affiliated with nearly one thousand state and local chapters across the country.

The Arc of Anchorage was founded in 1957 by a small group of parents at the very beginning of a nationwide shift in how our society thinks about people with disabilities. This group of parents came together to fight for the rights of their children with disabilities. Rights like:

• The right to live at home, instead of in an institution hundreds or thousands of miles away
• The right to go to school, at a time when “free public education” did not include a person with Down syndrome or cerebral palsy or someone who was blind or deaf
• The right to be treated like other people, to be a part of the community, to be respected, to have friends, to decide what they want their life to be and to work toward those goals just like anyone else.

Today, we are busy making sure the victories won by The Arc’s founders are not hollow. For instance, we provide services that help ensure:

• The right to work is accompanied by an opportunity to learn work skills so people can get and keep a job.
• The right not to be institutionalized does not leave a person homeless or lounging in front of a TV all day with nothing to do and nowhere to go.
• People who experience disabilities have the same opportunities as any American citizen to exercise the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

We look forward to the day when The Arc is no longer necessary, when the idea that people with disabilities are really “just people” has been so thoroughly incorporated into the fabric of our society that the notion of paid care providers seems old-fashioned and out-of-date.

But until that time, we have a promise to keep – a promise we made more than five decades ago. A promise to be here, ready to help, whenever a family comes knocking at our door, looking for hope and a helping hand. And to continue to be here for as long as their loved ones need us.