Anchorage Mayor Dave Bronson announced that the Municipality of Anchorage will end its pandemic-era mass shelter operations at the Sullivan Arena effective June 30, 2022.
The onset of the Covid-19 pandemic thrust the Muni into providing adequate shelter options for those affected by the virus, the mayor’s office said. When Covid-19 arrived in Anchorage, local nonprofit shelters did not have the capacity to meet physical distancing requirements, and thus the Sullivan Arena was reassigned to fill the gap. Since March 2020, the Sullivan Arena has been operating as a temporary mass shelter site, housing many homeless men.
Given the significantly diminished impact the virus is having on the community, lack of emergency declarations at the local and state level, and FEMA’s reimbursement of Covid-related expenses ending on July 1, 2022, the Muni is moving forward with a comprehensive plan to transition those at the Sullivan Arena into viable housing options.
“It is time to close this chapter in our city’s history and move forward with a bold plan that both treats those experiencing homelessness with dignity and restores the Sullivan Arena to its intended purpose as a place for memorable community gatherings and events,” said Bronson. “Our transition plan is a robust bi-partisan public-private partnership that has been in the works for nearly a year, and represents the largest investment ever made by the Muni to address homelessness in our community.”
The Administration has begun the process of notifying residents at the Sullivan Arena, and the Municipality is working with local non-profits and providers to transition individuals into housing options that meet their specific needs. Roughly 320 individuals currently reside at the Sullivan Arena.
The transition plan relies on planks established by the facilitated workgroup, made up of the Administration and Assembly, and will involve moving individuals into permanent supportive housing, workforce supportive housing, drug and alcohol treatment facilities, and other temporary housing options. Additionally, with the Muni-backed Navigation Center expected to open this fall, an additional 150 beds will be available for temporary sheltering needs.
For more information on the Municipality’s comprehensive response to homelessness, click here.
Why, wait so long to execute the evacuation (30-days), why not implement it TODAY?
Git-R-Done!
My general understanding is that the Sully will require significant rehabilitation before it can be used as a public arena again. That is actually not an urgent problem with Anchortown on a path to make it look like Detroit in the 70s.
Gonna bulldoze it?
Probably cheaper to rebuild than clean at this point.
I am sick to death of the extreme pandering to the most dysfunctional members of society.
Let the homeless fester and rot in the cesspool of their own making.
My prayers to those homeless, truly dysfunctional is Anchorage’s society and government to allow this rot to have advanced to this stage. As you vote, keep in mind a liberal will always allow growth in all areas, bad and good, liberals truly have a mental dysfunction.
Comments are closed.