On Monday the Anchorage Health Department began helping people move from homeless camps to winter shelters.
The city is concentrating on getting people into available hotel rooms first, according to Homeless Coordinator Alexis Johnson. The Aviator Hotel has 274 beds to offer, and the Alex Hotel has another 100. A larger shelter in the old Solid Waste Services building that can hold up to 150 people is expected to open by early next week, she said.
Johnson said about 350 people had registered for shelter space in the last week and many received calls saying rooms would be ready on Monday morning. The city provided transportation where necessary although many people who were staying at a camp at Third Avenue and Ingra Street walked to the nearby Aviator.
All of the shelters require people to minimize their possessions. People can keep a tub’s worth of items with them and put another tub into storage. Johnson said the shelters are also heat-treating every item that is brought indoors, including clothing, to kill bedbugs. At the Aviator, all rooms are double occupancy with a private bath. Meals and 24-hour security are provided. Residents must also agree to rules, which, at the Aviator, include no alcohol or drugs, no weapons and a curfew between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m.
Johnson said they are hoping to process about 100 people per day but it could take several days before everyone on the current list is provided a hotel room. Under the current contract, they’ll be able to stay through April.
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