The Anchorage Assembly will convene tonight at 5 pm in the Assembly Chambers of the Loussac Library, with an agenda heavily focused on the city’s vagrant and unsheltered population, particularly those with untreated mental illness, drug and alcohol addiction, or behavioral health conditions.
Among the new business items are two major grant awards for congregate shelter services, totaling over $18 million, that were previewed during a recent work session.
Assembly Memorandum No. AM 567-2025 recommends awarding a contract of up to $7.1 million to Henning, Inc. for congregate shelter services under the Anchorage Health Department’s oversight. A similar but larger award — Assembly Memorandum No. AM 562-2025 — proposes a contract of up to $11.1 million to MASH Property Management, LLC for the same type of services. A revised version of the MASH contract (AM 562-2025(A)) notes a not-to-exceed amount of $9.2 million, but indicates the full $11.1 million is possible if all contract options are exercised.
These contracts are part of the Municipality’s ongoing response to the Anchorage vagrancy crisis and are intended to address shelter needs for individuals who are unable to be housed in other settings.
Under unfinished business, the Assembly will revisit Resolution No. AR 2025-192, which urges the LaFrance Administration and the Anchorage Health Department to establish a targeted strategy for engaging individuals living unsheltered who also suffer from untreated serious mental illness or behavioral health issues. The resolution has been postponed twice — on June 10 and July 15 — and no motion is currently pending.
Also up for consideration is Resolution No. AR 2025-222, which expresses support for maintaining the current expanded capacity of 200 individuals at the shelter located at 1111 E. 56th Avenue. The full agenda is at this link.
