Homelessness team buckles down to tackle old problem

• Reduce deaths;

• Reduce violence;

• And reduce the negative impacts of homeless camps on neighborhoods, parks and trails.

"Having 12 deaths from spring to fall is really of crisis proportion," Sullivan said. "So we want to put that to a halt."

And the latest count is 13 deaths.

Sullivan said he visited homeless camps in his days on the Assembly. He heard about children afraid to walk to school because of the homeless people gathered in their path. The problem of people living in tents in illegal camps is more pervasive than many in Anchorage realize, he said.

His Homelessness Leadership Team crowded around tables in a City Hall conference room, working on short-term goals, long-term goals and measurements of success.

The 36-member team includes leaders of social service agencies, churches, advocacy groups and Alaska Native health organizations. State Corrections Commissioner Joe Schmidt and Health and Social Services Commissioner Bill Hogan are part of it. So are Trevor Storrs, executive director of the Alaska AIDS Assistance Association, and Jeff Jessee, chief executive of the Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority. Some members said it's key that the high-level appointees commit to the project and not relegate the duties to staff.

Members want to figure out where the camps are and how many people are living in them. They want to ensure there's enough space in shelters this winter, that people can use their vouchers for subsidized housing. Longer-term, the group wants to explore the idea of Housing First, in which people get off the streets into their own place, even if they're still drinking. They're talking about treatment on demand, so that when someone is ready for help, they get it.

This group will be different from other efforts targeting the homeless because it's zeroing in on the problem of chronic homeless alcoholics, Sullivan said. That small group, roughly 200 to 300 individuals, costs the public millions a year for emergency services.

The mayor said he's realistic about the problem.

"I don't think we can solve it," he said. But he hopes the new effort will "put a dent in it."

Find Lisa Demer online at adn.com/contact/ldemer or call 257-4390.