After weeks of deadly cold weather, Mayor LaFrance finally decides to take action on street people

At an emergency meeting Friday, the Anchorage Assembly agreed to move forward on a request to expand capacity at the city’s largest mass shelter for unhoused people, setting up formal action at the regular Assembly meeting on Tuesday.

The proposal would increase capacity at the congregate shelter located at 1111 E. 56th Ave., a facility that serves people considered among the hardest to house, due to their mental states and behavior problems. The Anchorage Health Department has requested a waiver of Title 7 and an emergency procurement to allow an additional 50 beds, bringing the total capacity to as many as 200 people at the site.

Under the emergency waiver, the contract could be amended and executed without competition, formal advertising, or other standard procurement procedures if the mayor determines in writing that an emergency exists. Mayor Suzanne LaFrance finally made that determination on Friday, signing a declaration stating that the “health and safety of the public are at immediate risk if congregate sheltering capacity at 1111 E. 56th Ave. is not expanded.”

In the written finding, the mayor cited sustained temperatures hovering around zero degrees Fahrenheit over the past week and the lack of available shelter space elsewhere in the city. The director of the Anchorage Health Department determined there is a life-and-safety concern for individuals currently unsheltered and unable to be accommodated by existing facilities. Both congregate shelter operators and the Anchorage Safety Center contractor, SALA Medical, have reported they are at capacity, while people continue to seek shelter, including individuals discharged from local hospitals and those dropped off by Anchorage police.

Given the conditions, the mayor’s declaration states that sleeping outdoors constitutes a life-safety emergency for unsheltered individuals. Henning, Inc., the operator of the 1111 E. 56th Ave. shelter, has indicated it can accommodate up to 50 additional beds, and the waiver would allow immediate execution of an amendment to expand capacity accordingly.

The item appears on Tuesday’s Assembly agenda as a “laid on the table” matter, meaning it is expected to be taken up without further public hearing.

The Alaska Story has been documenting conditions on Anchorage streets for months as temperatures dropped, showing people huddled in doorways, on ledges, and in exposed areas around the city, often without visible outreach or shelter options. Sometimes they have just a thin blanket over them and a piece of cardboard beneath them.

As winter intensified, many of those living outdoors appeared medically compromised, with others showing clear signs of mental illness or mental disability.

Mayor LaFrance campaigned on a promise of competence in city management, but the administration has allowed a life-threatening situation to persist downtown for weeks as cold weather worsened. Friday’s emergency action marks the first significant movement from the mayor’s office this winter to expand shelter capacity amid increasingly dangerous conditions.

Street people camp in doorway of Anchorage Visitor Center as winter sets in