Assembly votes to extend Civil Emergency to Aug. 6, 2019

 

Mayor's Office

7/26/2019

ANCHORAGE, AK—Today, the Anchorage Assembly voted to extend the Civil Emergency in the Municipality of Anchorage (MOA) until Aug. 6, 2019 at 11:59 p.m. This vote follows a recommendation from the Assembly Committee on Homelessness to extend the original proclamation made on July, 24, 2019. In addition, the Assembly approved a distribution of $400,000 to Catholic Social Services in order to continue operations at Brother Francis Shelter at its current capacity, preventing the unsheltering of approximately 240 vulnerable individuals in Anchorage. This emergency distribution will come from funds previously set aside for cold weather sheltering and other temporary MOA internal departmental reallocations.

The emergency declaration will also enable the MOA to provide housing or temporary structures for emergency shelter, as well as support the provision of social services to homeless individuals and families who would be left unsheltered with no immediate options available to them.

The Emergency Operations Center (EOC) was activated under the incident name of “Anchorage Mass Care Response 2019," and has been working to marshal resources across public, private and nonprofit sectors in order to stabilize the immediate health, public safety and housing crisis in our city. Providers have been outlining impacts—both acute and long-term—that will hinder or cause complete cessation of services to homeless or marginally housed individuals.

The Administration will present a report of broader community impacts to social service providers to the Anchorage Assembly during its regular meeting on Aug. 6, 2019.

Further information and situation updates will be coming from the EOC through the duration of the Civil Emergency. The EOC can be reached via email at helpanchorageeoc@anchorageak.gov.

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Media contact: Kristin DeSmith, Communications Director, Mayor Ethan Berkowitz, (907) 231-2226, desmithk@muni.org