RECOVERY PROGRAMS · LIFESKILLS
Twelve Months to Get Free
A live-in recovery program for men who are done with alcohol and drugs.
One year, no cost, and a real plan for what comes after.
12
Months. Live-In.
$0
Cost to you.
18+
Men 18 and Older.
25–30
Men at one time.
WHO IT’S FOR
If you're ready, we offer an opportunity.
You don't need money, insurance, a referral, or a clean record.
You need to be willing to live here for twelve months and do the work.
Every application is read by our team, and we make a determination on each one.
Detox first, if you need it
If you need to medically detox, that has to happen before you enter. Anchorage Native Medical Center and Providence are where to start.
A completed application
Fill it out in full. Our team reviews it and gets back to you within three to seven days.
Willingness to stay twelve months
This is a live-in program. You sleep here, eat here, and do the classwork here.
Willingness to work
The program includes a work phase. You can earn, open a bank account, and save toward your own housing.
Honesty about what your situation.
We will help with the tools to resolve it.
THE YEAR
What twelve months here
actually looks like.
Six things run through the whole year. They strategically overlap so you're not waiting to finish one before the next begins.
Healthy Living
Sleep, meals, structure, and a sober building. Three meals a day, your own bed, a locker, and the clothing room every Wednesday.
Counseling
One-on-one counseling at least every other week, group once a week, and AA meetings every week. Real work on what put you here.
Classwork
Required weekly classes, plus computer skills, money management, and hygiene. Financial counseling and GED enrollment through Nine Star come with it.
Bible Study & Chapel
Bible study offered 3 times a week with the Chaplain, using a specific curriculum.
Bible Study & Chapel
Bible study offered 3 times a week with the Chaplain, using a specific curriculum.
Community Service
Work that serves the Mission and the neighborhood. Reconnecting and building community are at the core of recovery.
Work Phase
In most cases months ten through twelve: a real job placement. You earn, you open a bank account, you save toward your own housing, and you leave with a work history.
Twelve months is a long time, and it isn't all work.
Art and music field trips, Botanical Garden tours, sports events, potlucks, snack nights, and Creative Beginnings art class, plus drum making for Native men through Southcentral Foundation. And at the end of it, a graduation: coffee, cake, pictures, and your family and friends in the room.
ONE YEAR, ONE MAN
Taylor finished in February 2025
Taylor graduated on Valentine's Day, alongside Eugene, at the end of his twelve months.
During the year he was the man who volunteered. He worked a table at Anchorage Project Homeless Connect, handing out supplies and information to neighbors looking for help, and he put a varied work history to use around the Mission wherever it was needed. In art class he found something he had not gone looking for, and started selling his paintings.
Today he is the Mission's Warehouse Coordinator and Expeditor. He pulls stock for the kitchen against the daily menu, and moves surplus out to small church food pantries before it can spoil. He still paints, acrylic pours now, and still sells some of it. He is saving for a trip to Japan.
At graduation he said he wanted to keep going with his computer education and to travel, because there is always more to learn. Eighteen months on, that has turned into a job title, a paycheck, and a plane ticket he is working toward.
WHAT WE BELIEVE
This is a Christian program, and our faith is front and center.
LifeSkills works through the 12 Steps of AA and NA. The Steps ask you to invite a Higher Power into your recovery. Here, that Higher Power is Jesus Christ. We're not going to pretend otherwise, and we'd rather you know before you apply than after you arrive.
You don't have to believe any of it on day one. You do have to be willing to sit in the room.
"If the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed."
--John 8:36
HOW TO APPLY
Three steps, and we'll take it from there.
Download and fill out the application completely
Take your time and answer honestly. Incomplete applications slow everything down.
Submit it to the Mission
Attach it below in the form, drop it at the front desk, or mail it to 2823 East Tudor Road.
We review and respond
Our team reads every application and makes a determination. You'll hear back from us.
Get the application
If you'd rather do this over the phone or in person, that's fine too. Ask for the LifeSkills program at the front desk, any day of the week.
Questions before you apply?
Call 907-563-5603 and ask for Marilee.
IF THIS ISN'T YOUR NEXT STEP
There's still a bed tonight, and still a way forward.
YOU NEED SOMEWHERE TONIGHT
The shelter is open every day. Walk in, no appointment, no cost.
YOU NEED TO DETOX FIRST
Medical detox has to come before the program. Here's where to start.
YOU'RE SOBER AND NEED HOUSING
Men's Recovery Support has furnished units for men who need more time in a sober setting, $400–600 a month all in.