AFN Navigation Program helps Alaska Natives apply for post-pandemic grants

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – Alaska tribes, tribal organizations and Alaska Native Companies all have the chance to use for post-pandemic infrastructure grants.

It’s giving native communities a possibility that’s as soon as in a life time, and the AFN Navigator Program is right here to assist.

“We’re monitoring all the main post-pandemic laws, along with the common appropriation spending payments,” Navigator Program Supervisor Nicole Borromeo mentioned.

“We’re then analyzing these packages for applicability. When eligibility is set, we then contact the tribes, tribal organizations, native companies and we then allow them to know that there’s a grant alternative on the market.”

Messages from the federal authorities don’t all the time attain rural Alaskans. These are locations that may not have dependable web, or web that’s available. Some communities are nonetheless attempting to get better from the storms that hit Western Alaska final month, in addition to the challenges that include winter.

That’s the place Borroemeo and her group of Navigators are available.

“It is a nice alternative with the funding for the tribes to be linked by Wi-fi, web, entry to healthcare, entry to schooling, entry to funding,” mentioned Regional Navigator for the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta Mary Kenick.

Even when there are eligible recipients for grants, it may be onerous to contact these in rural areas.

“We now have to have the ability to preserve calling and preserve emailing, as a result of we perceive that Tribal Directors are additionally the basketball coach, they usually may open and run the final retailer, and that they’ve a household of their very own,” Borromeo mentioned.

Navigators are even capable of journey to some tribes to assist them to use for the wanted packages.

“We proceed to see sure tribes not making use of for packages again and again, and we’ve the time on this cycle to essentially deploy our navigators to these areas,” Borromeo mentioned.

Via doing this, they will construct relationships with tribal members and tribal directors with a purpose to be included within the packages that present post-pandemic restoration help into the long run.

“It brings assets again to the communities that want them probably the most,” Kenick mentioned.

“With out our help, many of the communities wouldn’t pay attention to the funding alternatives,” Borromeo mentioned.

This system says this 12 months’s choices embrace further one-time funding, and there’s a wide range of totally different grants that the tribes are capable of apply for.

Its all-in an effort to deliver that funding again dwelling the place it’s wanted and to get these in want again on their toes.

“It should open up quite a lot of doorways,” Kenick mentioned.

Extra details about the Navigator program might be discovered on the Alaska Federation of Natives web site.

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