Administration outlines homelessness-and-health strategy, $5 million emergency rental assistance and scatter-site shelter plan

Farina Brown, special assistant to the mayor, and Thea Agnewbembe, special assistant to the mayor, described the administration’s homelessness-and-health strategy and near-term actions during a presentation to the Assembly Housing and Homelessness Committee.

Brown said the administration has moved from a single, large congregate shelter model toward a smaller scatter-site approach that pairs low-barrier shelter with case management and behavioral-health linkage. "We are intentionally moving away from a reliance on a single mass shelter model," Brown said, adding the strategy aims to serve a baseline of about 200 individuals with winter surge capacity up to 400.

Why this matters: the administration announced $5,000,000 in emergency rental assistance intended to increase exits to permanent housing and to stem inflow to literal homelessness, and it described investments in case management and behavioral-health access intended to reduce returns to homelessness.

Brown said the administration has abated 21 camps since taking office and emphasized that abatement alone is insufficient without places for people to land and outreach to engage them. She described changing the shelter mix to include noncongregate shelter and more case management, and said the administration had stood up 332 noncongregate beds during the past season (the original goal of 400 was not met).

Brown and Thea described other elements of the strategy: expansion of behavioral-health access through partnerships with the HOPE team (Homeless Outreach Prevention and Engagement team, Anchorage Police Department), work on pre-arrest diversion to treatment, planning for micro-unit housing projects and partnerships with the Alaska Department of Transportation on designated parking and possible sites for micro units.

Thea Agnewbembe said a crisis-stabilization facility under construction by Southcentral Foundation is expected to open in mid-2026, but the administration is pursuing interim, medium-level crisis stabilization options and a pilot Rapid Rehousing procurement. She said the rapid-rehousing RFP was revised downward from an initial goal to support about 75 people to an expected capacity to support about 50 people.

Brown highlighted a $156,000 grant agreement the Anchorage Health Department planned for ICA to maintain HMIS; Director Kimberly Rasch later said that item would likely be postponed pending a HUD substantial-amendment action that must be considered alongside the grant appropriation.

Rasch, who joined the committee later, told members the health department will present three items to the Assembly: a three-year shelter-licensing approval for five shelters (Anchorage Rescue Mission, Brother Francis, Clare House, Complex Care, Covenant House), a resolution to extend the capacity of the shelter at 1111 E. 50th Avenue at 200 individuals through the fourth quarter, and the ICA grant agreement for HMIS maintenance. She said licensing code was updated in 2021 and a license has been required since Jan. 1, 2023.

Members asked for operational follow-ups, such as signage and designated no-camping areas, better public education about enforcement priorities, clearer performance reporting from HMIS/coordinated entry, and a process for the proposed pre-arrest diversion that includes consequences if individuals fail to follow through. The administration said policy details are in progress and that some items may not require changes in municipal code but will need procedures and contracts.

Ending: The administration said it will return with a micro-units proposal and funding/site details in the next month or two, provide additional data linking warming-site users to HMIS counts, and work with partners on the pre-arrest diversion framework and crisis-stabilization interim options.