Luca Marchesani for Anchorage Assembly

1. Policy Summary

Establish a municipal Office of Unhoused Services or empower existing municipal agencies to create a streamlined, effective solution to the crisis of unhoused people in Anchorage.

2. Background & Rationale

• The current patchwork of non-profits, NGOs, and haphazard, one-off municipal programs clearly is not working for those who need it to work most.
• Alaska has the 6th highest homeless population per capita
• One well funded and well co-ordinated municipal organization could communicate better and serve as a better resource for the unhoused than the current confusing framework of different 501(c)3s and charities.
  

Sources / References:

• https://www.axios.com/2024/01/04/homelessness-states-map-2023
• https://www.dsausa.org/blog/unhoused-unseen-and-unheard-what-is-a-socialist-response-to-the-crisis-of-homelessness/
  

3. Policy Objectives

• Create an effective, streamlined system for dealing with homelessness.
• Reduce homelessness to pre-pandemic levels.