The first of four pillars of the Anchorage response to the homeless problem in Anchorage moved ahead with the purchase of the Sockeye Inn, where medically fragile homeless people will be housed. Medically fragile homeless are typically defined as homeless people referred by an agency, organization, or hospital with a medically verified need for non-congregate 24/7 housing.
As the administration of Mayor Dave Bronson takes steps to recover the Sullivan Arena for its intended purposes and move the people sleeping there to various shelters, the Mayor’s Office and three members of the Assembly negotiated for months to get to this point.
Several steps are ahead in the four-pillar process.
This portion of the plan is unique in that it is a public-private-philanthropy partnership. The Sockeye Inn is being purchased philanthropic groups and the city, with the Alaska Community Foundation providing the hub for the financial part of the deal. The $4.8 million purchase will close on March 31, and the former inn at 303 West Fireweed Lane will be run as a 501(c)(3), with Catholic Social Services contracted to operate it. Half of the funds to purchase the vacant hotel came from private philanthropy, including the Rasmuson Foundation and an offshoot of the Weidner Company.
The next pillar of the four-point plan is a navigation center to get homeless people the services and help they need. After that, the plan will include workforce housing center for those who are employed but cannot afford rents, and senior housing for elderly homeless people.
Larry Baker, on behalf of the Mayor’s Office, and two others from the administration negotiated with Assembly members Chris Constant, Meg Zaletel, and John Weddleton starting in August and, with the help of mediator Admiral (ret.) Tom Barrett, agreed to the overall framework for the exit plan for the Sullivan Arena. Each side gave a little to get to the agreement, sources told Must Read Alaska. The Assembly ultimately approved the plan over the objections of Assemblyman Forrest Dunbar.
The plan underway is a departure from the former mayor’s plan to purchase various hotels around town, including the Golden Lion on 36th and New Seward Highway, the America’s Best Value Inn on Spenard Road, and the old Alaska Club on Tudor Road. Of those, only the Golden Lion was purchased before Bronson took office, but it is not the drug addict treatment center that former Mayor Ethan Berkowitz envisioned. Neighbors in the area of town objected to having that clientele in their neighborhood.
