Anchorage plans gradual reduction of surge shelter beds, to populate micro‑units and route treatment services

Agnu Bamb of the Mayor’s Office and Kimberly Rash of the Anchorage Health Department told the Assembly Housing and Homelessness Committee the municipality will begin a gradual reduction of congregate surge beds for shelter operations and expects to return to 300 year‑round beds by the end of April.

"We are starting to work on reducing some of our surge beds...to get to where we are back to our 300 year round beds by the end of April," Agnu Bamb said, describing a gradual, attrition‑based approach supported by case management and placement strategies.

Rash described the shelter surge history and a decompression timeline: surge activations in November 2025 increased capacity, and an additional 50 surge beds were added at the East 56 (Congress) shelter so that facility temporarily reached about 200 beds. The Anchorage Health Department, RRS and the administration developed a tentative plan to begin gradual decompression on Monday, March 30, with full decompression on or before April 30, 2026, provided extreme cold weather does not force pauses in the plan.

Rash also provided a micro‑unit update: the lease between ACDA and Anchorage Recovery Center has been executed and a services contract is routing; staff said they expect micro‑units to be populated by early April and that Anchorage Recovery Center would provide an update on services at the next committee meeting. "The micro units have the residence, the shower block and then they also have office space and a meeting area. So the services will be all in one area," Rash said.

On operational supports, a Fire Department representative said a second overflow location had been activated during extreme cold, adding 25 beds, and that a state‑grant‑funded core team with an advanced practice provider has already enabled medication‑assisted treatment and referrals to Providence outpatient care following EMS or mobile crisis responses.

Rash previewed Tuesday’s agenda items, including a recommended sole‑source contract to the Institute for Community Alliances for HMIS services, contract amendments to add surge funding to existing providers (listed in the transcript as MASH and "Henny"), and a HUD action plan amendment to fund housing rehabilitation and repair programs.

Public commenters criticized shelter operations and access policies. Jimmy Lopez (Anchorage Coalition for the Homeless) said stricter curfews and enforcement can push people away from services and described undocumented overflow at some shelters. David Telen, who identified himself as experiencing homelessness, said he distrusts shelter conditions and urged officials to understand lived experience when designing services.

Staff did not take formal votes at the work session; several agenda items were only previewed for the upcoming Assembly meeting.