Restoring What Was Broken: How Healing Happens Through Human Connection
Contributed by Jessica Stotler
In every community, there are quiet stories unfolding stories of resilience, loss, hope, and healing. They are not always visible from the outside, and they rarely begin with a clear solution. More often, they begin with a person choosing to stay present when it would be easier to walk away.
Healing, at its core, is not transactional. It is relational.
At REACH 907, the work of restoring and empowering youth and families across Alaska begins not with correcting behavior or managing symptoms, but with building trust. Many of the children and families served have experienced disruption, instability, or trauma that fractured their sense of safety and belonging. What they often need most is not another set of instructions, but another human being—someone consistent, patient, and willing to walk alongside them.
Over time, those relationships begin to change things. A child who once felt invisible starts to believe their voice matters. An overwhelmed caregiver who discovers they are not alone. A volunteer who shows up week after week becomes a safe and familiar presence in a young person’s life. These moments may seem small, but together they form the foundation for lasting healing.
REACH 907’s mission—to restore, empower, and strengthen youth and families—extends far beyond any single program or service. From community-based programs to therapeutic foster care and family support, the organization operates with a simple but powerful belief: healing happens best in the context of safe, trusted relationships. Each program is designed not only to meet immediate needs, but to reinforce the connection between youth and adults, families and resources, and communities and one another.
This relational approach recognizes that healing does not happen in isolation. It is nurtured through consistency, shared experiences, and environments where people are known, supported, and valued. When communities come together to surround their most vulnerable members, change becomes possible—not all at once, but steadily and sustainably.
One of the most meaningful outcomes seen across REACH 907 programs is not just improved behavior or increased stability, but a renewed sense of belonging. When people feel they belong, they are more willing to take steps toward growth. When they feel seen, hope begins to take root. And when they are supported, they often learn how to support others in return.
Community healing is never the work of one organization alone. It happens when ordinary people choose compassion over indifference and connection over isolation. It happens when volunteers give their time, foster parents open their homes, donors give consistently, and neighbors decide to care for one another in tangible ways.
REACH 907 exists to make those moments of connection possible—and to remind us that restoration is not a distant ideal, but something that begins person by person, relationship by relationship. When a community chooses to stay engaged, to listen, and to walk alongside those who are hurting, healing follows.
That commitment to healing and connection will come together in a tangible way this winter, when REACH 907 gathers friends, partners, and community members for its annual Gala on February 13 at 6 p.m. at Wasilla Bible Church.
The evening will celebrate the relationships that make restoration possible—honoring stories of resilience, reflecting on the impact of shared investment, and inviting the broader community to continue walking alongside youth and families as healing unfolds. It is not simply a fundraiser, but a reminder that when people come together with purpose, real change takes root.