Our Story
The Rural Alaska Community Action Program, Inc., (RurAL CAP), founded in 1965, is a private, statewide, nonprofit organization working to improve the quality of life for low-income Alaskans. Operating with a deep respect for all people, our programs in housing, early childhood education, and health and well-being serve to alleviate the root causes of poverty. We are on the leading edge of delivering innovative, community-driven solutions in response to Alaska’s most challenging needs while supporting vulnerable individuals and communities statewide.
RurAL CAP’s Central Office rests on the traditional lands of the Dena’ina Athabascans and has services spread across the state. For thousands of years, Alaska Natives have been and continue to be the stewards of this land. It is with gratefulness and respect that we recognize their contributions, innovations, and perspectives.
Early Education
Promoting socio-emotional development, healthy practices, cultural richness, and school readiness, we serve prenatal women, children, and families through early childhood education. Our programs include the Child Development Center, Head Start, Early Head Start, and Parents as Teachers (PAT).
Child Development Center
The Anchorage Child Development Center provides full-day, year-round child care for children between 19 months and five years of age. Our center engages children in spacious classrooms with various educational activities and lessons.
Head Start & Early Head Start
Head Start and Early Head Start are federally funded programs that prepare Alaska’s children and families with low-incomes for school and life success through comprehensive services in early education and family well-being. While Head Start primarily serves three- and four-year-olds, Early Head Start visits the homes of families with infants and toddlers under the age of three.
Parents as Teachers
Parents as Teachers (PAT), a national home-visiting teaching model, supports families in Alaska Communities by delivering in-home services to prenatal women and families with children ages five and under.
Housing
We promote financial stability and independence through Homeless, Housing, & Shelter Services; Homeownership; and Home Improvement. These programs are available to Alaskans living with physical and/or mental health conditions as well as those navigating difficult financial circumstances.
Homeless, Housing, & Shelter Services
Through homeless and housing services, we support individuals and families in accessing and maintaining safe and affordable housing statewide.
We are a leader in preserving multi-family rental housing in Anchorage. Our Affordable Housing program assists households with low-incomes and individuals with special needs, including those with limited credit and/or rental history, in finding and maintaining housing.
Our Supportive Housing program provides resources and housing that maximize economic and human potential. At our facilities, we support our tenants in building skills to maintain long-term housing and wellness.
Serving as a bridge between service providers and individuals experiencing homelessness in Anchorage, we supply Homeless Outreach, identifying the specific needs of individuals experiencing homelessness then connecting them with service providers and resources.
Bay Haven is a shelter for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault in Hooper Bay. This trauma-informed and culturally appropriate shelter provides services that are available to every tribal member of Hooper Bay, Chevak, and Scammon Bay, regardless of current residence.
Homeownership
We increase access to affordable housing for low-income individuals and families through Mutual Self-Help Housing and Certified Loan Packaging.
Our Mutual Self-Help Housing program gives low-income families the opportunity to participate in the construction of their single-family homes, earning sweat equity in return for a cost-effective mortgage loan.
We are certified to work with rural communities and families in Alaska to package United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) 502 Direct Mortgage Loans. Our affordable credit counseling service helps clients work toward being eligible for the mortgage loan they need to build or buy their home.
Home Improvement
Our Home Improvement programs enhance the efficiency and accessibility of homes for Alaskans with low-incomes statewide. Prioritizing health and safety, we implement Weatherization, Home Modifications and Upgrades, Mobile Home Repair, and Senior Access.
Serving as a licensed General Contractor, we coordinate our Home Improvement programs to offset costs and ensure each client’s home receives the modifications and repairs necessary to improve the residents’ quality of life.
Weatherization works to reduce household energy costs; Mobile Home Repair improves the safety of mobile homes; and the Senior Access and Home Accessibility Modifications programs provide accessibility and mobility modifications to the homes of seniors and individuals living with physical disabilities.
Health & Well-Being
We address locally identified challenges through community wellness, youth development, tribal justice, and victim service initiatives. We deliver a variety of National Service, Wellness, and Training and Technical Assistance programs across the state.
National Service
We operate multiple AmeriCorps Programs in order to engage Alaskans, strengthen their communities, and foster civic engagement: the Elder Mentor Program (known nationally as the Foster Grandparent Program), the Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA) Program, and the Resilient Alaska Youth (RAY) AmeriCorps Program.
AmeriCorps is the federal agency connecting individuals and organizations through service and volunteering to tackle the nation's most pressing challenges. The agency engages more than 275,000 Americans each year in service to their nation and community at nonprofits, schools, public agencies, and other community and faith-based groups. National service members address critical community needs and improve lives through full-time, hands-on service or capacity-building activities. As a host, we provide training and support for program partners and their National Service Volunteers statewide.
Wellness
Our Wellness programs support healthy lifestyles and provide substance abuse and suicide prevention through community education, support, and healing. These programs include the Youth Development and Culture Grant Program, Youth Tobacco Prevention Program, Sacred Beginnings, Hooper Bay Wellness Project, and the Rural Providers’ Conference.
The Youth Development and Culture Grants is a mini-grant program that supports youth leadership and cultural activities in rural Alaska Native communities through a competitive Request for Proposals (RFP) solicitation.
Working toward a tobacco-free Alaska, we engage with youth through the Youth Encouraging Alaskans’ Health (YEAH) Teen Ambassadors program. We support statewide organizations by providing Training and Technical Assistance to grantees of the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services Tobacco Prevention and Control.
The Sacred Beginnings Project works to increase Head Start families’ consumption of fruits and vegetables through various education opportunities. The project provides a hydroponic garden wall in each participating Head Start.
The Hooper Bay Wellness Project works to prevent substance abuse through locally-identified initiatives that increase community cohesion and resilience. The project uses an evidence-based process known as the Strategic Prevention Framework to assess needs, plan, build capacity, implement, and evaluate progress.
Rural Providers’ Conference (RPC) is an annual gathering hosted in partnership with local, regional, and statewide partners to unite traditional Alaska Native knowledge with modern frameworks to prevent alcohol and substance abuse and promote healing in culturally appropriate ways. This conference also includes activities centered on youth and tribal justice.
Training & Technical Assistance
Through our Training and Technical Assistance programs, rural communities have access to various resources that support the development and enhancement of tribal justice systems, juvenile justice programs, and tribal victim services.
Our Resource Basket Training and Technical Assistance Center helps rural communities support healthy, successful, and culturally connected Alaska Native youth by offering training, resources, technical assistance, and peer-to-peer learning opportunities.
Our Alaska Tribal Justice Resource Center supports the delivery of statewide Training and Technical Assistance services to Tribes and tribal organizations seeking to develop or enhance their respective tribal justice systems. We provide access to statewide nonprofit, public, and tribal relationships, in addition to nationwide partnerships, affiliations, and services as needed.