While the city’s problems with homelessness have persisted for years, they’ve been the source of some of the most acrimonious disagreements and biggest controversies under the current mayor.
Whoever wins the Anchorage mayoral election, whether that’s incumbent Mayor Dave Bronson or another of the 10 candidates in the race, will face significant challenges on homelessness.
“A lot of this has to do with mistrust from the public because they’ve seen example after example of poorly executed plans that have created havoc in the neighborhoods around the facilities,” he added.Candidate Chris Tuck, a Democratic former state legislator, has been hesitant to openly criticize Bronson during debates and interviews. Rather, Tuck has preached “togetherness.”
LaFrance and Popp point to other major issues that arose with homelessness during Bronson’s tenure. Bronson in summer 2022 shuttered the city’s former pandemic-era Sullivan Arena mass shelter and bused homeless residents, including those vulnerable and disabled, to the city’s“We dump them in a campground, and then we create absolute chaos, panic, and have horrendous impacts to the surrounding neighborhoods, including a major senior housing facility,” Popp said.
This winter, beds at the city’s three emergency winter shelter sites have remained largely full. Though the city stood up more winter shelter beds than ever before, an estimated 250 to 300 people are still living unsheltered.at least one of its winter shelters open through the end of May. a day-one “homeless response action team,” including policy experts, advocates, potential grant funders, law enforcement, emergency responders, medical providers and people who have been or are homeless.involved in dealing with homelessness — the city, state and federal government, nonprofits and for-profits and the faith-based community.
The city has the means to put more money toward mental health and drug and alcohol treatment via the alcohol tax, she said.
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