Presbyterian Hospitality House

In 1957, Mable Rasmussen opened her home for girls coming from the rural and remote villages to Fairbanks. Like Mrs. Rasmussen, we have built a network of group homes and safe spaces for Alaskan youth to rest, heal, and be successful when they enter Alaskan society.

The objective of our organization is to provide treatment in a community-based program as an alternative to institutional placement. We seek to teach youth, in a less restrictive environment, the vocational, social, academic, self-care and family living behavior skills to successfully return the youth to their family, or assist them to complete high school, learn to live on their own and enroll in higher education, seek trade school options, or join the military.

Our treatment process, the Teaching Family Model™, was developed by the Bureau of Child Research at the University of Kansas and is widely recognized as an effective method of treating troubled youth. It uses three very effective tools to teach residents positive life skills: Social reinforcement of behavior from caring and consistent Teaching Parents. A token economy to promote positive achievements. A guidance system that allows youth to participate in a democratic fashion while also learning about self-governance.

Our teams of Teaching Parents and clinicians in Fairbanks and Wasilla work together to address the individual needs of each of our youth. Teaching Parents set and maintain the treatment environment in group homes. They work hand in hand with clinicians with expertise in treatment modalities like cognitive behavioral therapy, humanistic therapy, mindfulness-based therapy, narrative therapy, and solution-based therapy.