Called to connect: Alumnus builds homeless advocacy nonprofit focused on friendship

Maslow's hierarchy of needs has long been used to explain how people move from survival to fulfillment. In conversations about homelessness, however, most efforts understandably focus on the base of the pyramid: access to food, shelter and safety. Journalism and Public communications (JPC) alumnus Josef Rutz believes that while those needs are essential, something equally human often goes overlooked. Through his nonprofit Urban Hearts , Rutz has built a mission that emphasizes dignity, friendship and belonging as just as necessary for people to move forward in their lives.

Urban Hearts is an outreach initiative that engages people experiencing homelessness in Anchorage through consistent, personal interaction. Volunteer missionaries meet individuals where they are, bringing practical items such as food, drinks, hygiene products and bus passes. The organization's guiding principle is that meaningful friendship can foster hope and restore a sense of identity for people who often feel invisible.

"When people don't have healthy friendships, it's a lot easier to give in to despair," said Rutz. "I think any of us can see that in our own lives too. Like for me, yeah, I have a house and food and a steady income, but if I didn't have friends or family around, I don't think that would feel like I was flourishing."

While Urban Hearts is not formally affiliated with the Catholic Church, Rutz's faith informs its philosophy and structure. The organization identifies as a Christian mission shaped by Catholic teachings, particularly the belief that service to marginalized communities is a moral responsibility.

Born and raised in Chugiak, Rutz's passion for writing and storytelling led him to pursue journalism and public communications at UAA. Near the end of his studies, financial pressures brought him to downtown Anchorage to busk, playing guitar to earn money. That period of time became formative as interactions with people living on the streets challenged his assumptions about homelessness.

"Almost every person I talked to told me the hardest part of living on the streets was that nobody knows their name, nobody shakes their hand and nobody looks them in the eye," said Rutz. "That was the beginning of Urban Hearts. We wanted to create a ministry that focused on meeting that very human need to have friendships."

Seeking to understand how similar outreach models operated, Rutz's parish priest recommended that he traveled to Denver, Colorado, to work with nonprofit Christ in the City. Although the experience was positive, it ultimately reinforced his sense that his work belonged in Alaska. Upon returning home, Rutz began outlining his own vision. A chance reconnection with a high school friend, Jake Brownlee, who shared similar values helped transform the idea into reality. Together, they formalized the project as a nonprofit, developing its structure and recruiting a small team of volunteers to launch the first outreach efforts in early 2020.

What began as a passion project gradually expanded. For seven years, Urban Hearts relied entirely on volunteer leadership. But as both founders entered new stages of life, the need for dedicated leadership became clear. Recently, the organization took a significant step by making Rutz's mission director role full-time, allowing him to focus on stabilizing operations and building capacity. Drawing on his JPC education, he works to articulate Urban Hearts' mission to donors, partners and the community through storytelling, outreach materials and digital communication. The goal is to eventually establish a daily presence on Anchorage's streets through a team of full-time missionaries, deepening relationships and strengthening partnerships with service providers.

"A lot of those JPC skills are certainly coming in handy now," joked Rutz. "I had a really good experience in the program. All the professors were incredibly encouraging and I really enjoyed their perspectives on what it means to be a truth-teller. They all got to know me as an individual and saw the places where my interest seemed to be going and tried to nurture it."

Urban Hearts operates independently from traditional advocacy organizations due to its methods serving a different purpose. Larger agencies - some of which Rutz had spent time working for - often require extensive data collection to connect individuals with housing and other essential services, a process that can unintentionally reinforce the feeling of being an anonymous number on a spreadsheet. By contrast, Urban Hearts seeks to create an environment where individuals are treated as people first. At the same time, the organization recognizes the importance of established systems and regularly provides resource information.

The emotional toll of homelessness advocacy is significant, and staying motivated can be difficult. For Rutz and his team, however, the work is continually reaffirmed by the stories of those they meet. One such example is Daniel Ayagarak, who became one of the first friends of Urban Hearts and played a pivotal role in helping its volunteers gain trust within the community. After a period of absence, he reappeared having achieved sobriety and stable housing, crediting his progress in part to the encouragement he received through these friendships. Ayagarak's eventual passing due to a family heart condition underscored both the fragility of life on the margins and the enduring impact of genuine human connection.

"The last thing we got to hear from Daniel in the days before he died was that he had these friendships with us that meant so much to him, and that just sharpened what our mission is," said Rutz. "We're blessed to hear stories like that pretty often, and it's really touching to be involved in people's lives."