For those of you who know Terry Drake you may be aware of what kind of person he is. For those who don't, this will be an insight into the integrity and selflessness this man embodies in his daily life.

Terry Drake is one of the finest people many of us know, and are lucky to call a friend. Terry has walked the homeless camps in Anchorage Alaska for the last four years. He goes out faithfully during the week and hands out food, water, personal care items, bus passes, and medical supplies to those that are the most vulnerable living in horrible conditions. These are places we could not imagine steeping foot in, and Terry has witnessed many things that would send most running in the opposite direction. These camps are dangerous, with sometimes unpredictable occupants and heartbreaking circumstances for many who are there. Terry has been an advocate for many of these people, and has been instrumental in helping many get the medical treatments, mental health help, he has helped to get many off the streets into housing. Terry's efforts have also made a major impact in helping to remove dangerous drugs and criminals from our streets. He is regularly at the assembly meetings, and he provides reports of his findings and data to many of those sitting on the Anchorage Assembly.

Terry relies on donations from friends and different Anchorage agencies like the Downtown Hope Center to help him get food and supplies into his little van, he then takes it out for distribution to the hundreds of people in these camps. In many cases he uses his own funds to fill in where there are gaps, and in reality, cannot afford it.

In June of 2025 Terry was bitten by a dog that was trying to protect the owner who was assaulted the night before. It was on his hand. Terry took care of the wound in the best way he could, with knowledge in the field of wound care. It was not enough. The bite became infected and he needed to be put on antibiotics. What happened next no one could have been prepared for. The antibiotics ate the mucous membranes throughout his body and resulted in a perforation between his bladder and colon. While undergoing a CT scan, a mass was discovered on the colon and was determined to be cancerous. Terry will be undergoing Chemotherapy for the next several months to shrink the tumor to be removed. There is also concern of a lesion on the liver near his heart that the Dr's are trying to determine the best way to biopsy to make sure that nothing has metastasized.

Terry will have many months of not being able to work at the Birchwood Shooting Range, a job he loves, and will have basic needs like medical supplies, food, utilities and transportation costs. There are also repairs that need to be done to make his home ready for the upcoming winter.

If anyone deserves help, it is Terry. He has given so much to the community doing hundreds of hours of outreach and gathered invaluable data on the homeless populations of Anchorage, all the while never asking for anything in return.

Please consider donating to Terry's much needed fund to assure he does not have to go without while going on this journey.

Nothing is too small, and everything will be accepted with deep gratitude from Terry.