OPINION: At 40, Brother Francis Shelter encourages us to lead with our better angels

Compassion, leadership, unity. Those were the essential community elements 40 years ago in 1983 in creating the Brother Francis Shelter for those with no home.

The leadership and compassion for addressing the problem of homelessness began with Anchorage Archbishop Francis Hurley. Hearing of the accomplishments of a couple of brothers in a small order, The Servant Brothers, in Spokane, Washington, Hurley met with Brothers Bob and Dave and invited them to Anchorage to minister to the chronically homeless street people in our city.

Initially, the Brothers secured vacant state office space on Fourth Avenue for an overnight drop-in shelter. However, the number of people using it grew to the point that fire and safety code concerns forced the fire marshal to shut it down. This was May 1983, and the homeless were “evicted” back onto the streets. Brothers Bob and Dave found an alternative, safe place — the rose garden on the west end of the Park Strip — coincidentally, the spot where, two years earlier, Pope John Paul II had celebrated Mass.

This immediately concerned the surrounding neighbors and was a major news story. As a new mayor, I turned to John Franklin, my public safety commissioner in charge of police, fire and emergency medical services for advice, asking him “What should we do?” His answer was simple, “We need to help and protect them.”

As an interim solution, the Alaska Railroad allowed a temporary tent city to be set up on railroad land. The rose garden campers moved to this site, which was supplied with drinking water and portable toilets by the city.

That was the beginning of a journey starting with Archbishop Hurley, with key roles by Brothers Bob and Dave, and continuing under Public Safety Commissioner John Franklin. Because of their leadership and compassion, the community willingly accepted moral responsibility for this issue. And those in need knew they had a caring provider. There was unity of purpose and commitment.

Using a federal development grant and with the support of the Anchorage Assembly, a permanent structure was built on Municipal land on Post Road — the Brother Francis Shelter. Catholic Social Services, with Brothers Bob and Dave, provided the staff and programs for operations.

In 1985, Anchorage received an All-American City Award from the National Civic League based upon civic engagement, collaboration, inclusiveness and innovation. At the time we were facing a number of challenges as one of America’s fastest-growing cities. In our application for the award, I focused on Anchorage’s quality-of-life policies responding to the needs of both those with homes and those who had no home, highlighted by the Brother Francis Shelter, demonstrating our community’s character, compassion and moral responsibility.

In the past 40 years, there have been many changes. We are all aware of the significant increase in the homeless population in almost every city in America fueled by economic hardship, trauma and family dissolution, medical crises, mental illness and addiction.

In the early 1980s, some 200 to 300 individuals were identified as homeless in Anchorage. Contrast that with 2022, when social service agencies had more than 11,000 contacts to assist the homeless or those living on the edge. Well over 90% of those people were helped to retain their housing — or, if unhoused, found shelter, transitional or permanent housing. It became clear that facilities such as the original Brother Francis Shelter provide essential safety while we step up prevention and response to homelessness with more permanent solutions beyond shelter.

In the same spirit of 40 years ago, Anchorage today is strongly responding with compassion, leadership and unity in forging a path from homelessness to a goal of stable housing for a better future. An incredible list of community partners and generous funders have combined forces in this effort.

Under the leadership of the Anchorage Coalition to End Homelessness, Anchorage’s excellent service and housing providers are focused on supporting people experiencing homelessness on a path to secure and retain housing. A remarkable public-private partnership has invested in hotel conversions for 300 new housing units. Along with funding from the Municipality, generous funders included Calista, Chugach Alaska, and Doyon Corporations; Gottstein Foundation; Block Foundation; Providence Alaska; Premera Blue Cross Blue Shield; Weidner Apartment Homes; Rasmuson Foundation, and United Way of Anchorage.

The Municipality and its many community partners are moving in the right direction by supporting a path from homelessness to living in stable rental housing. In addition to the new housing units, next to Brother Francis Shelter is the Third Avenue Navigation and Resource Center. It offers every person a one-stop array of services, including computers, focusing on housing, education, health services and employment. Additionally, the former Sockeye Inn was converted to a complex care facility for medically fragile or disabled people needing additional assistance before moving on to more permanent housing. What has evolved is an array of housing and support options tailored to different elements of the homeless population.

When stable and diverse housing fulfills the demand, Anchorage will welcome the closure of unauthorized campsites throughout the municipal parks, greenbelts, and open space that are seen by the general public as a risk of harassment, crime and illegal activities.

Leaders of the community, public and private, know that the job is unfinished and that there are still many urgent challenges ahead, including a robust emergency cold weather shelter plan for this winter. We have to accelerate our compassion and unity of purpose through action and securing the necessary human and financial resources to assure success.

We need new partners in this mission such as state and federal governments stepping up to fulfill their responsibilities in addressing this issue. We need more volunteers and private philanthropy. I have complete confidence we can rise to the challenge. With our long history of compassion, leadership and unity, Anchorage can truly lead the nation and once again be an All-American City.

Tony Knowles was governor of Alaska from 1994-2002 and mayor of Anchorage from 1982-1988.

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