In a Twist on GroundHog Day, the Sullivan is Again the Municipality’s Mass Shelter
Anchorage Mayor Dave Bronson has once again turned the Sullivan Arena into a mass shelter, holding up to 375 unhoused individuals per day.
At a Homelessness and Housing Committee meeting Wednesday, Assembly members learned that in addition to 200 people housed on the main floor, up to 178 more people are occupying a separate warming area of the Sullivan Arena. The administration has attempted to skirt the capacity limit of 200 by offering no bed, meals or services to those staying in the “warming area,” reminiscent of when Bronson claimed Centennial wasn’t part of the homeless response since the city provided no services after busing people there. Those living in the warming area are on the waitlist of the main shelter area.
The administration will ask for a formal capacity increase of 150 at the Assembly meeting on Tuesday, despite having already exceeded the capacity limit.
Not all Assembly members are happy with the plan. Assembly member Daniel Volland, who represents North Anchorage, is concerned about overburdening the Fairview area, particularly because the administration has done little to provide security, area clean-up, and mitigation measures.
Fairview residents have testified on several occasions about setting up a community patrol and performing CPR on an unresponsive individual due to the lack of city response and oversight. Assembly member Chris Constant suggested requiring that mitigation funding be automatically appropriated, driven by the census of shelters in the area.
Municipal Manager Amy Demboski, attending the meeting over the phone, reassured members that the administration is finally moving forward on a plan to offer more resources to Fairview, including funding clean-up in the neighborhood and overtime for the Anchorage Police Department to increase patrols of the area.
The Assembly has spent several years working to decentralize the city’s homelessness response, only to have Bronson try and concentrate it into one area. Volland asked whether the administration has looked for other locations to house people, or if the plan is to just continue increasing capacity at the Sullivan.
“Do we want a scattered site model or not?” he asked.
Bronson’s Homelessness Coordinator, Alexis Johnson, stated the administration has not looked at other locations and she didn’t know whether the administration would request future capacity increases.
“I don’t have a crystal ball,” Johnson said.
Assembly member Kevin Cross lamented that Bronson’s proposed navigation center was not yet built, giving the impression that such a facility would solve all the homelessness problems. It would only relocate them to a different facility, for the simple reason that a navigation center still needs places to navigate to.
This is an ongoing problem in the municipality, particularly in the area of treatment. While treatment is one of the most critical needs in a homelessness response system, Anchorage has very little low-barrier treatment. As reported by Michelle Theriault Boots in the ADN, 24 individuals believed to be homeless died outside this year, the most for any year on record (the paper started tracking the stat in 2017. The city does not track the stat).
The Municipality of Anchorage currently owns the $9 million former Golden Lion hotel, which was intended to be a substance misuse facility. The building has sat empty and unused for most of the past two years because Bronson refuses to use it due to campaign promises.
Meanwhile, people die on our streets due in part to a lack of treatment beds.
New Candidates File for Local Office
Matt Cruickshank, a life-long Chugiak-Eagle River resident, has filed a letter of intent for outgoing Anchorage Assembly member Jamie Allard’s seat, representing Eagle River. Cruickshank has worked for the Department of Transportation for over 10 years. He is chair of the AMATS Citizens Advisory Committee and serves on the board of the Birchwood Community Council. He was appointed to the board for his neighborhood road service area in 2021 and stated in his resume that he brings with him a working-class perspective, a commitment to family, and dedication to thriving, safe communities.
Cruickshank will be competing for the seat against Kevin Scott Meyers, who works in real estate and is endorsed by Allard and Bronson.
Cliff Murray has filed his intent to run for Anchorage School Board. He is a Save Anchorage member who ran for school board in April, receiving 7% of the vote. His website states he is running to keep schools open, unmask our children and bring patriotism back to our schools. He will be running against incumbent Andy Holleman.
You can read about candidates who have filed previously here.
Coming Up
The Anchorage Assembly will meet Tuesday to discuss increasing capacity at the Sullivan Arena.
There are several confirmation hearings on Friday that may be voted on during Tuesday’s meeting, including one for the Municipality’s new library director, Virginia McClure.
If you have any comments or tips please contact me at yarrow@thealaskacurrent.com.
