Anchorage is clearing homeless camps in midwinter for the first time, raising concerns from advocates: (via AKpublicnews)
Lucille Williams pulls a cart filled with her belongings on a bike path along Mountain View Drive in January 2022. Williams says it's the third time she's had to clear her camp this winter due to the city's new abatement program. and is republished here with permission.
The program has existed for years in the summer, but starting in late December, for the first time Anchorage started abating homeless camps on public property during the winter months. The Parks and Rec Department says it’s cleared more than 50 camps since Dec. 22. Williams said she doesn’t plan on moving to shelter, despite the outreach from RurAL CAP and over 100 open beds at Sullivan Arena, the city’s main shelter. She’s been in it before, but prefers the open air.
Residents have long complained about low temperatures at night in the arena and broken-down bathrooms, which have forced residents to use portapotties since last summer. “It’s a shell game,” said Parks, from RurAL CAP. “You’re just clearing one camp out, and they’re just moving and setting up a camp somewhere else.”
Often, he’s joined by other social workers who help campers sign up for Medicaid or food stamps. If campers are interested, Staten says he’ll help them get clean clothes and even set up a job interview. He’ll also sign them up for coordinated entry, a waiting list for housing that prioritizes the most vulnerable campers coordinated by the Anchorage Coalition to End Homelessness.
Campers often spend weeks in the fall winterizing their camps by building platforms from wood pallets, draping tarps over their tents, and installing foam insulation on the walls and floors. He’s lost supplies during the last abatement, including tents. The zipper on the current tent door is ripped, and several other fellow campers are bundled up next to him.
Parks and Rec say they do their best to make abatement as easy and safe as possible for campers by working closely with campers and coordinating around the weather.
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