EDITORIAL: The inescapable, hard truths of Anchorage homelessness

Homelessness is a hard, multifaceted problem — one of the most difficult and expensive facing Anchorage today. As a major population center and one of the only places in the state where there is significant infrastructure to address homelessness and its host of attendant issues (among them health care, food insecurity, mental health needs and drug and alcohol abuse), those on society’s margins gravitate here from around the Southcentral region and the state — and often don’t have the resources to regain stable footing.

The homelessness problem was exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and is now exacerbated further by the expiration of federal funds aimed at helping combat that increased need for services. That has left the state and, increasingly, the municipality in the position of making difficult decisions about how best to allocate limited funds to make the biggest dent possible in the number and character of Anchorage’s homeless residents.

If the bad news is that we don’t have the resources to make short work of homelessness, the good news is that we all have ways that we can help address the problem. In most cases, we don’t have perfect solutions — but we shouldn’t let the absence of the perfect stop us from pursuing the functional tools at our disposal.

On the part of the municipality, that means a two-pronged approach of increasing capacity for shelter and homeless services, while at the same time abating camps that are dangerous to both their residents and the general public. Even when harboring great compassion for homeless residents, it’s an undeniable reality that large, non-secure camps become targets and havens for bad actors. Whether those camps are near Downtown and Midtown or in Centennial Campground, the resulting lawlessness can lead to tragic outcomes. Recently, the U.S. Supreme Court provided cities with legal justification to be more aggressive with abatements. And while camp abatement has been derided as ineffective at solving underlying issues that contribute to homelessness, it is nonetheless effective at disrupting the worst behavior associated with the camps, as well as providing motivation for those with alternative options for housing to pursue those. It’s good to see Mayor Suzanne LaFrance acknowledge this reality by clearing some of the worst of the camps, and promising to continue doing so when the camps pose public safety concerns — but so far, city action has mostly been just that: promises. In other areas where homelessness is a problem, notably in California, leaders have been much more aggressive with clearing encampments; it’s time Anchorage follows suit.

While abatement will disrupt criminal behavior, by itself it isn’t a full solution without shelter capacity — especially in winter, which is fast approaching. Mayor LaFrance has said one of her administration’s major goals is implementing a shelter plan ahead of winter, a tall task for a relatively new staff but one that is nonetheless essential to progress. Doubtless, the mayor plans to pursue the sort of plan she outlined on the campaign trail — a system of dispersed, smaller shelters that contrasts with former mayor Dave Bronson’s mass-shelter vision. Where smaller shelter facilities in Anchorage do exist, there’s evidence to suggest they don’t have the same negative impact on surrounding areas as the Sullivan Arena did on the nearby Fairview neighborhoods when it was used as a mass shelter during the pandemic — we certainly haven’t seen as many complaints or police calls about residents of the Downtown Hope Center or the Golden Lion, for instance. If the mayor does have a shelter plan, it needs to be rolled out immediately.

And that’s where Anchorage residents’ buy-in is essential: While few people relish the prospect of a shelter in close proximity to their home, the reality is that a system of dispersed shelters will all be in someone’s proverbial backyard — or at least close by. As we have a responsibility to our neighbors and our communities, we need to suppress the knee-jerk reaction to protest shelters close to our own houses while championing those far away. This doesn’t preclude bringing true concerns about shelter locations to the attention of public officials, of course, but there’s a difference between “this location could lead to homeless residents crossing train tracks at a dangerous spot” and “this shelter is too close to my home.”

The news on homelessness isn’t all bad. One of the most promising grassroots shelter developments in years is in the works near Central Lutheran Church on 15th Avenue, as a new nonprofit (appropriately named In Our Backyard and led by the church’s congregants) works to stand up a half-dozen tiny housing units for older homeless residents. The land to the west of the church has often been the site of a varying number of campers. By erecting permanent shelter and providing safety measures such as lighting and security, In Our Backyard will be living its members’ values and making a small but meaningful contribution to solving Anchorage homelessness. We hope the effort succeeds, and that it moves other churches and groups to similar efforts — it’s no small task, and not every congregation will have the means to do so, but consider how substantial an impact 100 In Our Backyard-modeled groups could have across the municipality, without necessitating substantial government investment and support.

We all have a part to play in combating homelessness in Anchorage. Consider what your best contribution to the issue can be.