Anchorage Assembly members are warning of a humanitarian crisis ahead of the Sullivan Arena shelter's closure, clashing with the Bronson administration on a path forward. Today, there were over 100 people at the shelter. Tomorrow, it'll close for good.
Amy Watson said,"I just follow my feet and inner voice," as she wrangled her belongings outside the homeless shelter at Sullivan Arena on Wednesday.
For the last few days, buses have been arriving at the shelter to take people, their belongings packed into clear garbage bags, to other smaller shelters or to, which was converted last week into Anchorage’s first sanctioned campground for people experiencing homelessness. People wait outside the homeless shelter at Sullivan Arena on Wednesday The mass shelter opened at the beginning of the pandemic and will stop operation on Thursday.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, he said, hundreds of new housing units have opened in Anchorage. But he acknowledged that the final residents of the shelter face a difficult immediate future.Few supplies, many questions and multiple bear encounters at Anchorage campground now open to homeless residentsSoon, as early as next week, contractors will arrive to fix broken plumbing, broken glass and other damage to Sullivan Arena, Sachtleben said.
The meeting repeatedly grew tense as several Assembly members said they were not getting basic information or communication from the mayor’s administration. “We’re in the process right now of demobilizing one of the biggest congregate care facilities in the country,” Demboski said. “We’re doing the very best we can … we’re trying to make sure that we’re keeping the city safe and we’re being respectful.”
Though the availability of housing units and shelter beds fluctuates slightly from day to day, Ware said the problem also stems from constraints on staffing and funding. A facility might have a few spare rooms, but not the workforce or funding to responsibly take in more clients. “We have picked, I will say, all the low-hanging fruit. All the easily housed people are housed,” said Cizek, telling the Assembly that many of those who remain at the Sullivan are dealing with mental, physical and behavioral health issues.“It’s very clear from our impromptu case management that there’s not a lack of beds, there’s a lack of proactive case management,” Demboski said.
That’s a particular concern this year as exceptionally dry conditions have kept the city at a heightened risk of wildfire danger. According to Demboski, in just a three-month period starting in April, the Anchorage Fire Department reported that 219 fires it responded to were in or around homeless encampments. But once Sullivan Arena closes, Demboski told the Assembly, no abatement is anticipated beyond situations that constitute exceptional hazards to public safety.
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