Anchorage mayor candidate Q&As: Name a program dealing with homelessness in Anchorage that you believe is working

In advance of the April 6 Anchorage municipal election, the Anchorage Daily News asked candidates running for Anchorage mayor a series of issue questions. These include questions suggested by readers. Read all the mayor and school board candidates’ responses here.

Q: Name a program dealing with homelessness in Anchorage that you believe is working.

Anna Anthony

I don’t know enough about the existing programs to address this.

Dave Bronson

Anchorage Gospel Rescue Mission.

Jeffrey Brown

Catholic Social Services’ shelter-based services are working hard to help the homeless, and the Community Services Patrol as well. The police are also very involved with the homeless populations. I think efforts and services need to be implemented in a coordinated way. We can’t just say it’s enough to force the homeless out of camps without providing a place for them to go, or we end up with people sleeping in the streets, or forming new camps.

Forrest Dunbar

Choosing Our Roots is a host home program for LGBT+ youth, founded in 2019. This program offers safe homes, reliable mentors and community support to young people in need. LGBT+ youth experience homelessness at a higher rate, and interventions like this have lasting positive impacts. In 2020, COR housed 13 youth, helped match 9 youth into other stable housing and provided support to 33 youth through one-on-one mentorship. I would also point to Path to Independence, a public-private partnership between the municipality and local organizations that pairs long-term housing with employment opportunities, and Home For Good, a pay-for-success program that delivers housing and intensive case management, where the muni only pays if there are successful outcomes. These programs are making real progress.

Bill Evans

Covenant House has a number of programs that are working with respect to youth homelessness. Currently, with the advent of CARES Act and FEMA funding, our temporary shelter process is more effective than normal. But that appears to be a temporary situation due to the pandemic. Our CAP and MIT teams outreach to unsheltered homeless appears to be helpful, but should only be considered a Band-Aid, as in the long run, the municipality should not accept a large unsheltered homeless population.

Bill Falsey

The “Home for Good,” housing-first pilot project is showing great promise. Enrollment began in July 2019. By June 30, 2020, of 21 people housed, 19 remained in stable housing. Individuals in the pilot experienced 85% fewer arrests, 85% fewer Safety Center intakes, 63% fewer stays in shelter and 44% fewer emergency medical service trips. The project was initially funded through a combination of federal, state, and philanthropic grants; a segment of the new alcohol tax is allocated to further expand the project. Meanwhile, we’ve learned through the COVID emergency response that placing people in individual units can be done successfully, and without negative community impacts. Together, the two suggest that continuing to invest in “housing first” solutions is a sensible path forward.

Heather Herndon

There are too many programs and nonprofits that mildly help the situation other than keeping themselves employed.

George Martinez

The Mobile Intervention Team is highly effective and is now funded through the alcohol sales tax.

Mike Robbins

The Salvation Army McKinnell House.

Albert Swank Jr.

The Clithroe program in the area of Anchorage International Airport and the Native corporation program located on the grounds of the Alaska Native Hospital complex.

Read more questions:

Why are you running for mayor?

What in your background or experience sets you apart from the other candidates and makes you suited to be an effective mayor of Anchorage?

What’s the biggest challenge facing city government and how would you address it?

Describe how your administration would approach the coronavirus pandemic

What’s your assessment of how Anchorage’s city government has responded to the pandemic over the past year? What, if anything, would you have done differently?

What role should city government play in repairing economic damage to individuals, businesses and community organizations from the pandemic?

What’s your vision for downtown, and what specifically are your short-term and long-term plans for repairing damage from the past year?

Would you make changes to the Anchorage Police Department and policing policies? Why?

Is the Anchorage Police Department adequately staffed?

Do you support the bond issue on this spring’s municipal ballot that would fund public-safety technology upgrades, including body-worn and in-vehicle cameras for police officers? Explain.

Describe, with specifics, how you would expand and diversify Anchorage’s economy.

What’s your vision for Anchorage’s economy in the future?

Is taxation in Anchorage too high/about right/too low?

Do you have ideas for alternative sources of city revenue? Explain.

Are there city programs or services you would cut? Explain.

Are there city programs or services you would expand? Explain.

What’s your view of current Anchorage land-use plans? Would you push for changes?

Homelessness remains a persistent, significant problem in Anchorage. What specifically would you do differently from previous administrations?

Name a program dealing with homelessness in Anchorage that you believe is working

Discuss your commitment to transparency and openness in Anchorage municipal government. Do you have suggestions for improving either?

What’s your assessment of Anchorage’s transportation infrastructure? Do you have a plan to improve it? How?

Are there specific transportation projects you would initiate in the municipality if elected?

The past year has been marked by increasing civic discord in Anchorage. What would you do to reduce frustration, distrust and anger that increasingly has characterized civic conversation?

What other important issue would you like to discuss?