ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – Maybe you’ve seen them selling baked goods at local farmer’s markets in Anchorage. Or maybe you’ve tasted their goodies served on the Alaska Railroad or in the Alaska Airlines lounge. Motley Crew Bakery is making a name for itself, but it’s the story behind the muffins, breads and cookies that is really sweet.
Motley Crew is part of a program called Streets to Success which is run by the nonprofit Bean’s Café. The program has been around in one form or another for the past three years, according to Streets to Success Director Kyle Gardner. About a year ago, Streets to Success underwent a major expansion. It’s now a 12 to 16 month long residential drug and alcohol prevention program for people who’ve experienced homelessness or incarceration.
“We take folks who are at their rock bottom, we give them a place to stay, we help them work on their sobriety, we work on life skill development, we work on job readiness skill, we work on resume building, GEDs if they need that,” said Gardner. “We just kind of build up the whole person and we get them to where, when they graduate our program, they are hirable, they’re sober, they have work experience, and they are really able to step from the streets back into Anchorage successfully.”…