Working group continues towards a solution for Anchorage’s homeless crisis

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - A preliminary draft document from Wednesday’s working group meeting shows 30 possible sites for homeless relocation before the winter season approaches. This is particularly important given the fact that a separate proposal from the Bronson Administration was not accepted by the Anchorage Assembly back in July.

Working group member and Assembly Vice-Chair Christopher Constant shared his thoughts on the process:

“What you saw is evidence (of) on Wednesday is that we are starting to work together. There are still some tense and challenging issues and questions that come between us but we are having an open dialogue which is much more than we were having a month ago.”

Constant is expecting an appropriations request at Friday’s special meeting of the Assembly.

These funds would hire a company already on contract with the Municipality of Anchorage to assist with real-time cost analysis for all of the potential scenarios, locations, and potential construction costs.

The overall proposed plans seem to have boiled down to two imperative questions: What will the municipality do with the mass shelter, for example, the Sullivan Arena, and what’s the long-term plan to combat homelessness.

“It’s a work in progress and there’s evidence that we’re making progress,” Constant said.

This topic among other issues will be discussed at a rescheduled special meeting of the Anchorage Assembly on Friday morning.

Live Streaming and Archived meetings/Podcasts are available on the Municipality’s website.

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