These are challenging times, and getting through them will mean relying on science, facts, and good communication. That's why Alyse started inviting experts to answer questions and provide resources to our communities through virtual town halls.

Early on, we heard from experts about staying safe and healthy, getting help if you're sick, and talking to your children about these scary times. In more recent town halls, we are going more in-depth on more specific issues impacting Alaskans—like commercial fishing, homelessness, and the unique impacts the virus is having on specific communities.

Here are a few highlights from these informative events:

At our Commercial Fishing Town Hall, we talked with Paula Cullenberg, a Bristol Bay setnetter and former director of Alaska Sea Grant, and Dan Hull, fisherman and former Alaska representative to the North Pacific Fishery Management Council. They updated us on how businesses are faring and what they are doing to keep workers safe. Sixty percent of US seafood comes from Alaska, so a lot is riding on this sector of our economy.

We brought together Jasmine Boyle of the Anchorage Coalition to End Homelessness and Brian Wilson of the Alaska Coalition on Housing and Homelessness for our Food, Shelter, and Other Essential Needs Town Hall. They told us calls to 2-1-1 (a one-stop resource for finding help in your community) are up 500% in the past month, and there is a 75% increase in demand at food banks. They also shared that nonprofits are hiring remote workers, and you can find those opportunities here.

At our Mat-Su Town Hall, we talked to Stephanie Allen, who is the executive director of the United Way of Mat-Su. She directed folks to their resource page here. She also emphasized that if you are feeling overwhelmed and need to talk to someone, you can reach the Mat-Su Health Services 24/7 by calling 376-2411.

We also talked to Austin Otos, a lifelong Ketchikan resident, during the Ketchikan Town Hall to get an update from the community. He complimented the city for keeping everyone up-to-date through social media and shared his story on being laid off and filing for unemployment. Austin told us it was hard at first to talk about being unemployed, but that it’s important Alaskans ask for help and get the resources they need to survive this crisis.

We will continue to hold town halls like these to not only provide resources but also to listen to our fellow Alaskans about how this impacts their communities and what more we can do.

If you have any requests for future town halls, let us know!

Stay safe and be well,

-Team Alyse