[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 86 (Thursday, May 18, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3027-S3028]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                       Tribute to Michael Carson

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. SULLIVAN. Mr. President, every week I have been coming to the 
Senate floor to talk about someone in my great State of Alaska who 
makes Alaska a better place for all of us--for the community, for 
everybody living there. I call this person our Alaskan of the Week. To 
be honest, it is one of the most fulfilling things I get to do as a 
Senator, recognizing back home and across the country special people in 
my State.
  There is no doubt that many here in the Chamber and the people who 
are watching from home have seen pictures and television shows about 
Alaska. We are a little biased--I know one of our pages is an Alaskan--
that we have the most beautiful State, not only in the country but in 
the world. So we want to encourage everybody watching to come visit 
Alaska. It will be the trip of a lifetime, absolutely guaranteed. It is 
truly the people of Alaska who make our State so special, people with 
big hearts who band together to solve challenges. Like all places, we 
have challenges.
  This week I would like to recognize Michael Carson for his work to 
help people in Alaska who are struggling with addiction. We know this 
is a problem that is impacting every single State in our great Nation. 
Michael lives in Palmer, AK, a picturesque town about 45 miles from 
Anchorage in Alaska's vast Matanuska-Susitna Valley--what we just call 
the Valley or the Mat-Su. It is about the size of West Virginia, so 
don't get me going on the size of Alaska. It will embarrass most of 
my--actually all of my colleagues here, unfortunately for them. Palmer 
is flanked by the rolling Talkeetna Mountains to the north and the saw-
toothed Chugach Mountains to the south. It is a close-knit community 
where most people know each other.
  Many people in Palmer and the Mat-Su across the State know Michael 
Carson's name. Like many Alaskans, Michael's story is one full of 
adventure. Originally from California, he received his undergraduate in 
early childhood development from the University of Texas. After 
hitchhiking through Africa and spending a summer in Mexico, he took a 
job teaching in Nome, AK, in 1974. A few years later, he moved to the 
Mat-Su to teach and taught our students for many years.

[[Page S3028]]

  He retired from teaching, but his yearning to help people, 
particularly our youth, did not leave him. He got a job at Covenant 
House in Anchorage, which is a homeless youth shelter. It is a 
wonderful place, by the way. I am a little biased on this one; my wife 
Julie happens to work at Covenant House. Michael's shift started at 8 
p.m. and ended at 8 a.m. That is what he was doing at Covenant House. 
He spent those hours walking through the city, reaching out to kids on 
the streets, sharing his own story, and inspiring our youth because his 
story also involves recovery. It is a privilege to say here on the 
Senate floor that Mike has been sober for 29 years.
  Eventually realizing that kids in the Mat-Su Valley also needed a 
place to go when they were in trouble and needed help, Michael and 
another incredible constituent of mine, Michelle Overstreet, founded 
MYHouse in Palmer, a place that provides services like job assistance, 
access to healthcare, clothing, food, and showers for homeless youth. 
Michael still sits on the board, still remains a champion for all 
youth, particularly those in recovery and the homeless or 
disadvantaged. He leads recovery groups on-site weekly, as well as 
meetings with clients who are struggling. He has also volunteered to 
host recovery groups at the Mat-Su youth detention facility for the 
past 13 years. Michael has helped many young people get sober and stay 
sober.
  In Michelle Overstreet's words, it is not uncommon for youth to come 
into the drop-in center, homeless and just out of juvenile detention, 
and ask specifically for Michael, to come in and say that he helped 
them somewhere along their journey through life to sobriety, just to 
come in and say: Thank you, Michael.
  Most of us know that our country is in the midst of an opioid crisis, 
one that has become an epidemic in many places across the country. In 
2015, more people in America died from overdoses--over 52,000, and most 
were linked to opioids and heroin--than car crashes or gun violence.
  On Wednesday morning, Alaskans awoke to a disturbing headline in the 
Alaska Dispatch News: ``Anchorage is seeing a dramatic surge in heroin 
overdoses.'' Anchorage is the largest city in Alaska. It is my 
hometown. The article said that since May 1, there have been more than 
2 overdoses a day in Anchorage--34 overdoses in just a little more than 
2 weeks.
  Like almost every State in this great Nation of ours, Alaska is being 
hit hard by the opioid crisis, and we are trying to focus as much 
attention as we can in a bipartisan fashion on addressing this crisis, 
whether in Alaska, Kentucky, New Hampshire, Indiana, or Vermont.
  We need people like Michael. Every State does. He started the only 
grassroots opioid task force in the State of Alaska and continues to 
chair that effort to this day. He knows too well how the abuse of 
opioids, other drugs, and alcohol robs our citizens--but particularly 
our youth--of their lives, promise, and future. He also understands how 
very important it is to have resources for those who need the support 
and recovery. Those resources come in many forms. We have been trying 
in the Congress in the last year, year and a half, to bring significant 
resources to our State and local communities. We are doing that.
  State support is also important across the country. Perhaps most 
important is the community support and having people like Michael on 
the frontlines who understand that addiction is not a moral failure and 
that people who are suffering need help. They need help, not moral 
judgments from us.
  Because of Michael's involvement and the involvement of so many 
others in Alaska and particularly in the Mat-Su, there are places for 
people who are suffering to call and get help. There are places to go 
and heal and places where our youth can have leaders who listen to 
them, like Michael.
  Michael says it is vital for his own recovery to continue to help 
people who are suffering from addiction. He calls it ``survivor 
obligation.'' I call it the work of angels.
  Michael, thanks for all you do, and congratulations on being our 
Alaskan of the week.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Sullivan). The Senator from South Dakota.