Don’t forget those without homes in crafting COVID-19 response

We, the members of our Anchorage Homeless Resource Advisory Council, implore our leaders to leave no one behind in this war against an enemy we cannot see. We have struggled to survive without a home. Some of us are still living without permanent shelter.

Children, young people, women, men and all those in between do not aspire to live on the street. We find ourselves without a home for every reason under the sun, among them: gig, part-time or minimum-wage jobs that don’t provide a living wage; medical bankruptcy and disabilities; domestic violence; lay-offs, closings and terminations; mental health issues that need professional care; addiction; and veterans unable to cope with the horrors with which they live.

Our nation has marginalized millions of individuals who do not “fit in.” Our shelters and camps become the home of last resort for Americans like us. Telling us to pull ourselves up by our tattered bootstraps is an intentionally cruel and inhumane excuse for turning your backs.

We are on the one’s falling through our nation’s tattered “safety nets” and health care system that are constantly being shredded by budget cuts and prejudice. In the midst of a pandemic, we are also the most likely victims of contagion and prejudice.

Millions of Americans live paycheck to paycheck. They could all be joining us on the street any day now.

As elected leaders help craft the U.S. “trillion-dollar” plan to shore up our economy, was ask that they not forget the millions of us living on their streets. Great advances are often made in times of crisis and chaos. But all too often, those advances have disadvantaged those already at a disadvantage. Make sure it does not happen this time.

COVID-19 relief legislation must include funding for:

• Temporary shelter with “gym jumping jack” spacing between individuals

• Prohibition against evictions and utility shut-offs for the duration of the pandemic

• Rent and mortgage support for those about to lose their apartment, condo or home, until the occupants return to work

• Food for all

• Mental health outreach and services

In addition, many folks without homes will not be able to tolerate the shelters and will not be able to gain access to needed support. Our team proposes that folks with experience living without a home be enlisted to provide support to those in need of special care.

With the weather warming, many will elect to camp out rather than submit to the rigors of shelter life. Government should provide services to those in the camps, refrain from camp abatement efforts and encourage best practices for maintaining campers’ health. Our team proposes that folks with experience living without a home be enlisted to assist the government in outreach and support to those in the camps.

Our nation’s tattered myths remind us we are “one nation, under God, with liberty and justice for all.” This is a time for us to grow together in compassionate community. Our elected leaders have it within their power to leave no one behind.

May it be so.

Holly and Jonathon Cannon and the Anchorage Homeless Resource Advisory Council Team seek to promote awareness of homelessness-related issues and provide a voice to advocate for those without homes in the Anchorage community.

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