A Year in Review
People line up in the snow at an Outreach Pop-up events to receive basic supplies, first aid and food. ACEH has hosted these events 2-3 times every week of 2023.
Hotel conversions are helping people move into housing stability.
In 2023, the coalition worked with partners to bring over 860 affordable and permanent supportive housing units to the community.
Over 500 low-income people have left the streets this year and are now in stable housing and supportive care.
Jason Cates, former ACEH Outreach Manager, counting unsheltered people during the 2023 Point-in-Time Count.
We have been busy with outreach in 2023!
The coalition and our partners have been bringing help and services out to our unsheltered neighbors. Multiple times a week this year we have been hosting outreach pop-up events where people can get assistance including basic supplies, first aid, food, and taking the first step to permanent housing and supports through Coordinated Entry. Over 528 people have been enrolled in Coordinated Entry* during street outreach this year alone!
*Coordinated Entry is the first step towards a housing referral. Learn more at aceh.org/coordinated-entry
Senator Lisa Murkowski speaks at the Alaska Housing Summit, 08/21/2023
Alaska Housing Summit
Along with the Alaska Coalition on Housing and Homelessness, ACEH hosted a day of presentations, panel discussions, and regional spotlights on the state of housing in Alaska. Housing providers, developers, government workers, policymakers and interested community members learned more about the unique challenges and innovative community-based solutions to the housing crisis. The Alaska Housing Summit discussed solutions and how municipalities, housing authorities, state, and federal government all play a role in the development of housing.
Owen Hutchinson, former ACEH Director of External Relations handing out winter gear at Project Homeless Connect, 10/25/2023
Project Homeless Connect 2023
In October our community came together at the Egan Center for Project Homeless Connect 2023. At the event ACEH and our many partners were able to help over 500 people by providing for basic needs, cold weather gear, and assistance as they navigate toward stable housing.
The Houston-based Coalition for the Homeless, Anchorage Municipality, and Anchorage Coalition to End Homelessness gather after the community conversation at the Wilda Marston Theatre, on December 6, 2023.
The Coalition launches bold effort to house 150 people in four months
Next Step is a collaborative pilot project to house 150 people by the end of April 2024, moving individuals from Anchorage emergency cold weather shelter into housing. Supportive services will help people stabilize and begin a new chapter in life.
The Anchorage Coalition to End Homelessness, the Municipality of Anchorage, and cold-weather shelter operator Henning Inc. are taking the lead and working with service providers.
Costs and Savings
$100 a day per person in a shelter vs. $85 average daily cost to house a person.
Houston, Texas, has reduced homelessness by more than 60% since 2012. Leaders in the effort visited Anchorage in December 2023 to share their knowledge. Here is some of their encouragement and guidance.