OPINION: Anchorage homelessness — the year so far and looking ahead to winter

2024 has been a dynamic year for Anchorage in addressing homelessness. We have seen significant changes in the number of people experiencing homelessness and tried new and innovative approaches to moving people from shelter to housing, adding year-round shelter capacity and moving people from the streets to housing. As the summer winds down, now is a good time to review what’s been done, lessons learned, and the plan for this coming winter.

First, where are we today? Today there are 2,940 people experiencing homelessness. Of those, 86% (2,465) are in shelter or transitional housing. Unlike much of the West Coast or the nation, Anchorage’s homelessness population is mostly indoors. At present, only 14% (475) of those experiencing homelessness are living outside. Also, homelessness is down below 3,000 people for the first time since January 2023. Looking back to where we started about a year ago, these are positive accomplishments for our community.

Heading into last winter in October 2023, the Municipality of Anchorage had 900 people living unsheltered in its public spaces and 3,569 people experiencing homelessness in our community. The need for a new approach was clear as the Municipality opened up 575 beds of seasonal shelter beds that would only last until the spring. When seasonal shelter capacity closes, people are often left with no choice but to go outside.

What if we reduced the number of people headed outside in spring? Could Anchorage quickly house a significant number of people experiencing homelessness to reduce the number of people leaving emergency cold-weather shelter at the end of the season? With partnership from landlords, case managers, the Municipality, philanthropy and community contributions, we were able to move 150 people to housing with significant support before the winter seasonal shelter closed at the end of May. We called this initiative the Next Step.

Simultaneously, we worked alongside the Municipality to advocate that 200 beds of seasonal shelter remain open year-round. Thanks to our legislators and the Governor, the Municipality was able to secure $4M of state money to make that happen. At the end of winter, 200 people were able to remain in shelter instead of heading outside. These two efforts meant 350 people were housed or sheltered that would otherwise have been camping in public spaces.

This spring, as winter shelters closed and the summer started, Anchorage saw roughly 500 people living outside unsheltered. Our street outreach teams made sure we were making contact, providing life-safety items and ensuring that we had everyone in our system and in line with housing programs. But that wasn’t enough. We also took our success from winter and used the same Next Step approach to close encampments directly to housing with support. Throughout the summer in close consultation with the Parks and Recreation Department and the Anchorage Police Department, we’ve been able to house and support an additional 27 people who were previously living in parks in Midtown and along the Coastal Trail, and we hope to be able to close one more encampment to housing before the snow flies.

With 475 people still living outside, even in light of the new housing and shelter capacity, and new partnerships to address homelessness, we have an opportunity with the upcoming winter season. As the Municipality gets ready to unveil its emergency cold-weather shelter plan, we should think beyond just seasonal shelter and push to replicate the success of the past winter. Can we again house and support 150 people so they will not be temporarily sheltered, but instead end their homelessness, a guarantee that they won’t be camping outdoors next summer? Also, can we find the means to turn a seasonal shelter effort into a year-round effort like we did last winter?

Shelter is certainly not the solution to homelessness, but it is an important intervention. Last winter the 200-bed shelter in Midtown served 2200 people with the average stay being less than a week. Each year the homelessness prevention and response system serves approximately 11,000 people. The interventions most people access are quick and short-term, allowing them to quickly bounce out of homelessness.

As we enter this winter season, let’s think strategically about how a seasonal winter response can be something more that sets our community up for success next summer. In a community where housing is scarce and expensive, we do not have the resources to stop all occurrences of homelessness, but we can be better at responding and ensuring that homelessness is rare, brief and one-time. Please join us as we work in collaboration with our partners and the Municipality to think past the emergency and crisis responses and instead implement tried-and-true strategies that are reducing homelessness in our community.

Meg Zaletel is the executive director of the Anchorage Coalition to End Homelessness, whose mission is “To provide dynamic leadership to unite Anchorage in making homelessness rare, brief and one-time.” She is also a member of the Anchorage Assembly.

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