The Assembly Housing and Homeless Committee met on May 20, 2026, to receive a detailed briefing on the 2026 Point in Time Count from the Anchorage Coalition to End Homelessness and the Q1 2026 Homelessness Health Metrics Dashboard from the Mayor's Office and the Fire Department. Mayor LaFrance opened the session highlighting a 28% reduction in the unsheltered population and emphasizing the need to continue multi-pronged efforts.
Mayor's Opening Remarks Mayor LaFrance reported a 72% retention rate for people housed from homelessness two years prior and announced a 28% reduction in the unsheltered homeless population compared to 2025. She highlighted the establishment of year-round shelter and the Hope Team's 171 referrals in Q1. She noted the problem remains unsolved and requires continued investment.
2026 Point in Time Count Update Jessica Parks (ACEH) presented the HUD-mandated count results from January 26, 2026.
Homelessness Health Metrics Dashboard Q1 2026 Thea Agnew Bemben and Dr. Pierce presented the quarterly dashboard.
Assembly Deliberation Assembly members discussed metrics definitions, equity of resources across populations, the challenges of hospital discharges, and 311 response times (APD Chief noted planned technology upgrades). Assembly Brawley stressed the need for transparent public communication on the trade-offs of current spending levels given the finite municipal budget.
Travis, are we recording? We are. Okay, great. All right. I'm gonna call to order this meeting of the Assembly Housing and Homeless Committee. It is Wednesday, May 20th at 1101 a.m. Um, welcome everyone. We'll start by just um getting a sense of who's here. Let's start with those in person. Erin Baldwin Day. Sydney Scout. And this is Cameron Perez Rodia. And on the phone, Mr. Johnson, are you there? Here. Ms. Brawley, are you there? Yep, I'm here. And Mr. Gecker, are you there? Sorry. Girker. Sorry. Sorry, Girk. All right. Um, we have a pretty pretty full agenda today, so um we should just get started. For those online, if you want to get into the queue, just remember to send me a text. Um, and for the record, we've been joined by Ms. Park. Okay. Um, let's let's get started. We're gonna start with the 2026 point in time count. Uh, with those involved in that presentation, come forward, please. Welcome. All right, thank you. Uh, let me know if uh you can't hear me or if you need me to uh repeat anything. Actually, before I have you begin, I I do want to make note that that the Mayor LaFrance is here, and I just wanted to give you give you a moment if there's something you want to share with the committee. Thanks. Thank you. Thank you so much. Um, Chair Perez Verdea, and thank you, Assembly members, for being here today. Ms. Parks, um, for taking a few moments before you begin to make uh some comments. Since I took office, my team has been focused on reducing the number of people experiencing experiencing homelessness in our community. We have been very focused specifically on the people who are unsheltered in Anchorage and have been working to see a reduction in that number. This year's point in time count shows a 28% reduction in unsheltered homelessness compared to last year. That is fewer people sleeping in our public spaces, fewer people susceptible to our cold winter nights, and fewer people unsafe in our community. This is good news, but the problem is not solved, and there is still more work to do. The ultimate goal is to have accessible housing options for all Anchorage residents. As we work toward that goal, I'm proud that we have stood up year-round shelter for the first time.