Mariya Lovishchuk says she won’t be in charge anymore, but she’s not going anywhere.Mariya Lovishchuk and her dog inside 247 Franklin Street, December 2021. (Claire Stremple/KTOO)
The executive director of the Glory Hall homeless shelter in Juneau, Mariya Lovishchuk, is stepping down from her role after more than a decade of leadership.
In an interview on Thursday, she said that although she won’t be in charge anymore, she’s not going anywhere.
“Well, I think this is why it’s not newsworthy — I think I’m gonna try to do the kind of stuff that I’ve been doing. I just don’t want to be in charge anymore,” she said, laughing.
Lovishchuk began her role as executive director back in 2009. And, while serving there and with the Juneau Housing First Coalition, she’s been busy.
She helped move the shelter from downtown to a larger location in the Mendenhall Valley. She also helped turn the old shelter into affordable housing units, and she helped develop the Housing First facility in Lemon Creek.
That facility, called Forget-Me-Not-Manor, is operated by the Glory Hall and provides permanent supportive housing for people who’ve been homeless for a year or more and have a disability or chronic health condition. Currently, the manor is in the final stages of fundraising to build 28 more units there, which will bring the total to 92.
Lovishchuk said a lot has changed in 15 years, but one thing really sticks out to her.
“I think the big shift for us just was realizing how critically important permanent supportive housing is,” she said. “Switching from providing sandwiches and cots to really thinking about systemic issues, and really focusing on the development and operating of housing.”
Lovishchuk said she hopes the Glory Hall’s next director will come ready to collaborate with other groups in Juneau that are trying to get people into housing. The Glory Hall is part of the Juneau Coalition on Housing and Homelessness, a partnership of local agencies and organizations working to find solutions to get people out of homelessness and into stable housing.
“I think Juneau is really unique in terms of how many organizations and partners work on projects together, and just how collaborative our efforts are,” she said. “And, I think it has really had amazing results. So, I really hope that continues.”
Lovishchuk said those partnerships — and working with the people who come into the shelter — have been the highlights of her career.
“I have so many favorite parts of this job,” she said. “I think just like doing something so meaningful for so many years, it just like really adds to your life. It’s just — it’s so enriching, I think, personally and professionally.”
The search for her replacement is already underway. She said she is confident that the right person is out there who can move the organization forward.