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Presented by Change 4 the Kenai
The Kenai Peninsula community has access to a wealth of social services and resources, but in the past, residents have overwhelmingly said these resources are inaccessible to them.
Why is there a gap between available resources and accessible resources? Kenai Peninsula resources have long stayed siloed and separate, operating without the kind of collaboration that would help residents get to the right services on their first try.
Fortunately for the entire community, Kenai Peninsula organizations have partnered on the 100% Communities initiative, a model that will ultimately ensure that all residents can easily access and connect with essential resources — from mental health care to accessible transportation.
What Is the 100% Communities Initiative?
The 100% Communities initiative is a national model designed to help local organizations better serve their communities with improved communication, streamlined services, and increased collaboration.
“It provides a structured, actionable framework that has enabled us to build a responsive public health initiative tailored to meet the specific needs of Alaskans, ultimately helping us achieve the impactful change our communities deserve,” said Abby Struffert, a prevention consultant and local resident who leads the Southcentral Alliance for Family Resilience.
The model helps communities focus on 10 vital areas of support and assesses how accessible these services are for their residents. While Change 4 the Kenai initially led the way on the framework, multiple community initiatives — including Peninsula Points on Prevention and Southcentral Alliance for Family Resilience — set out to discover the Kenai Peninsula community’s most significant needs and implement the 100% Communities initiative.
What Are the 10 Vital Services?
The 100% Communities initiative is rooted in the idea that there are 10 fundamental services every member of a community should be able to easily access. Those 10 needs are split into two categories: Surviving Services and Thriving Services.
Surviving Services encompass the things a person needs to be healthy, stable, and safe. They’re the basics of health care, shelter, and food.
Surviving Services include:
- Medical and dental care
- Mental health care
- Housing security programs
- Food security programs
- Transportation to vital services
When people’s basic needs are met, they gain the security and stability to focus on Thriving Services. These services foster connections to the community, support educational growth, and promote financial stability, empowering individuals to move beyond mere survival and truly flourish.
Thriving Services include:
- Parent supports (resources for caregivers and services that make families stronger and less prone to trauma or abuse)
- Early childhood education
- Community schools (institutions where families can find health, social, and family services along with tutoring support)
- Youth mentorship programs
- Job training and postsecondary education
“The thought process behind separating these services into these two categories is not just about prioritizing needs, but about recognizing that a balanced community is one where people are not only safe but have access to resources that enable them to reach their full potential,” Struffert said.
Where Does the Kenai Peninsula Community Stand?
Ultimately, the Kenai Peninsula has plenty of remarkable organizations to fill both Surviving and Thriving Services needs. Still, members of Change 4 the Kenai, Peninsula Points on Prevention, and Southcentral Alliance for Family Resilience surveyed community members about their access to those services, respondents reported that most of the 10 vital services were mostly inaccessible.
Struffert and other leaders of the 100% Community initiative point to a fragmented network of services as the root of the gap. They emphasize that many vital service providers operate in isolation, often without clear communication or collaboration. As a result, residents struggle to navigate the system and access the support they need.
“This separation (between organizations) often results in duplicated efforts, competition for limited funding, missed collaborative opportunities, and gaps in communication that could benefit everyone involved,” Struffert said. “Our community is fortunate to have a range of services and unique programs supported by a dedicated and compassionate workforce, especially within the social services sector. However, the complex system can be daunting for residents to navigate.”
How Is the 100% Communities Framework Solving the Issue?
The first major project from the 100% Communities initiative focuses on streamlining resource navigation for residents, providers, and professionals by developing a user-friendly, accessible, and sustainable resource guide. Thanks to the feedback received through the community survey, the 100% Communities initiative has been able to create a much-needed answer to community confusion about service availability.
A new resource guide, the 907 Navigation App, is set to launch in early 2025. This innovative tool is the result of a partnership between the Central Kenai Peninsula’s 100% Communities initiative and the Alaska Impact Alliance, a statewide workgroup dedicated to reforming child welfare and strengthening families. The app will be available statewide, providing all Alaskan communities with a platform to build and share local resources. It offers a user-friendly solution to streamline resource navigation and connect residents to vital services. Accessible both online and on mobile devices, the app is designed to function even in areas with limited broadband access.
“The app is a significant improvement over traditional paper and PDF resource guides,” Struffert said. “It will be available to all — community members, providers, teachers, social workers, legal professionals, government agencies, nonprofits, faith-based organizations, tribes, and tribal partners — helping to build robust referral networks and streamline system navigation.”
The 100% Communities initiative is tackling challenges specific to the Kenai Peninsula by forming 10 Action Teams, each focused on one of the 10 essential service areas vital for survival and thriving. These teams will analyze survey data and dive deeper into their assigned service areas to identify impactful ways to improve local access and availability. Additionally, the teams will regularly collaborate with one another, fostering better communication and coordination across all 10 service areas and their members. This unified approach aims to create meaningful, community-wide improvements.
How Can the Kenai Peninsula Community Get Involved?
If you’re a Kenai Peninsula resident who wants to help the 100% Communities initiative improve your community’s standard of living, there are multiple avenues for you to get involved:
- Take the survey. While the initiative has already conducted its initial survey in the Kenai Peninsula, the survey will be offered again in 2025. Be sure to complete it, share your essential feedback, and highlight areas where you’re experiencing gaps in services.
- Join the action teams. You can work with one or more of the 10 Vital Service Action Teams by attending meetings, working on projects, and helping problem-solve on local issues.
- Give your feedback. Beyond the survey, you can participate in town halls, chat with the action team or initiative leadership, or share your ideas in online forums.
- Download the 907 Navigation App! Launching in 2025, this innovative tool becomes more effective as more Alaskans use it. The app features an internal recommendation system, allowing users to suggest additional resources. The more people engage and contribute, the more comprehensive and valuable the app will become for communities across Alaska.
The 100% Communities initiative will help ensure that every resident of the Kenai Peninsula community can access the services they need to survive and thrive.
This story was produced by the sponsored content department of the Anchorage Daily News in collaboration with Change 4 the Kenai. The ADN newsroom was not involved in its production.