Assembly Member Felix Rivera, representing District 4, Midtown, has released the following statement regarding shelter needs in the Municipality of Anchorage:
"Over the last 10 days, I have heard significant pushback from neighbors regarding the possibility of using the Arctic Recreation Center as a low-barrier shelter. This opposition reminds me of the community voices who came out to speak against the proposed Tudor and Elmore Navigation Center. Of note, both the Arctic Recreation Center and the Tudor and Elmore Navigation Center are ideas which stemmed from the work of the Facilitated Collaborative Process between the Assembly and administration which broke down last year.
While I disagree with some of the pushback and characterization of shelter, it is clear to me that these two possible solutions to providing permanent shelter are dividing our community. This division and reactionary response are impeding my laser-focused work to stand up a shelter by November, before winter arrives.
If we are going to meet this goal, we need a clean slate. We need a process that begins not with putting forward a specific project or location but engaging with community. This could help avoid the sense of surprise and shock I have heard from my neighbors. We need to permanently put in the rearview mirror the divisive proposals that have stalled us from making progress towards the creation of a new permanent year-round low-barrier shelter.
We as a community need to move beyond the way we think about shelter. I’ve had countless conversations with community members who use the Sullivan Arena and the 2019 version of the Brother Francis Shelter as examples. I look forward to reframing this conversation so we can all learn about what shelter can be in our community and not focus on what it has been in the past.
That is why I am proposing a “Clean Slate Strategy” which will lay out a path forward for us to collaborate with neighbors, the Mayor and his administration, community partners, providers, and people experiencing homelessness to meet the end goal – to stand up a new shelter by November. This strategy doesn't propose starting from scratch -- there has already been a tremendous amount of work that can inform the next phase of this discussion. Starting from a clean slate will allow the community to engage in the conversation without any preconceptions or fears.
This strategy, outlined below, will be put before the Assembly and Administration for consideration and vote at the regular Assembly meeting on Tuesday, March 21, 2023.
I respect that the Mayor continues to be supportive of the Tudor and Elmore Navigation Center. I encourage him to collaborate with me so we can come together as a community and work towards a solution that will provide a needed service for our most vulnerable populations. We cannot be stuck in the past and what I propose is the best way for all parties to move forward.
Here is what I will be proposing via an Assembly Resolution that will be laid-on-the-table to help us get to a clean slate so we can have a productive conversation
The Arctic Recreation Center will permanently be taken off the table for consideration as a permanent year-round low-barrier shelter.
The Tudor and Elmore Navigation Center will permanently be taken off the table for consideration as a permanent year-round low-barrier shelter.
The Assembly and administration will develop criteria for any future proposed shelter regarding the interaction between shelter and neighborhoods as well as shelter and other institutions. This criteria will be brought before the Assembly for adoption via Assembly Resolution and have a public hearing.
It is the goal of the Municipality of Anchorage to open a new permanent year-round low-barrier shelter by November 1, 2023.
All critical decision points will be discussed in publicly noticed meetings. The Assembly will develop and publish a timeline and process to allow the community to engage as much as possible.
The following draft timeline and process will be discussed at the March 31, 2023, worksession titled “Discussion on Permanent Year-Round Low-Barrier Shelter” from 11am to 12:30pm at the Assembly Chambers in the Loussac Library:
March 31: We will begin this process by discussing what well-run shelter means and what it looks like in jurisdictions around the country. In addition, the Assembly will review the public process we intend to engage in as we have this conversation.
April: The Municipality and community partners will host a variety of town halls to 1) discuss the work of previous administrations, work groups, and task forces so we can develop a collective understanding of where we are and why, 2) discuss what well-run shelter could look like and 3) hear from community members about their ideas, concerns, and hopes for this process.
May: The Housing and Homelessness Committee will develop the criteria regarding the interaction between shelter and neighborhoods and bring that to the full Assembly and community for consideration.
May: The Housing and Homelessness Committee, along with community partners, will review the list of facilities which have been considered in the past as well as consider new opportunities brought to us by the community. We will then run all possible facilities through the criteria developed by the Assembly and Emergency Cold Weather Shelter Task Force in 2022 to determine what the possibly viable options are within the Municipality.
June: The Municipality and community partners will host a second series of town halls to 1) update the community on the work and 2) begin getting community feedback on all possibly viable options within the Municipality.
June: Based on community feedback and review, the Housing and Homelessness Committee will bring forward to the full Assembly and community for consideration the best possible choice available. In addition and as needed, an appropriation request will be brought forward to fund the acquisition of such a facility.
July through October: Although this will need to be fleshed out further in the future, during this time, acquisition of the facility will be finalized, an operator selected through a competitive bid process, an application will be submitted for a shelter license, and there will be continued conversations with community stakeholders about mitigating impacts, safety concerns, operations, and more.
November 1: A new permanent year-round low-barrier shelter will open.
I invite the Mayor to meet with me on Monday, March 20 to discuss this proposal. I will make myself available as this clean slate strategy is in the best interest of the Municipality."
###
CONTACT:
Felix Rivera | Assembly Committee on Housing & Homelessness Chair
felix.rivera@anchorageak.gov