The 2022 Point-in-Time Count has begun!

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Anchorage Coalition to End Homelessness (ACEH)


** WEEKLY DIGEST
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Spotlight


** The 2022 Point-in-Time Count has begun!
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Mac Lyons, ACEH Coordinated Entry Manager and Dakota Orm, ACEH Healthcare & Homelessness Project Manager, give a quick update.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development requires the collection of Point-in-Time Count (or PIT Count) data for one night each year to assist in measuring the extent of homelessness within Alaska.

This data is later used to advocate for federal and state funding to assist Alaska’s homeless.

ACEH will continue to complete the PIT in partnership with national planning and HUD. A primary goal of ACEH is to improve local data strategy, because solving homelessness starts with connecting stakeholders to comprehensive and accurate information about the people being served.

The 2022 PIT Count will continue for the rest of the week, ending on the 28th.

A huge "thank you" to ACEH partners and allies for the support and donations you provided. We appreciate you!
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** ACEH Updates
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The Anchorage Coalition to End Homelessness (ACEH) works with allies in the community to design, create, and lead implementation for the Anchorage community plan on homelessness.
More about ACEH ([link removed])


** Case Conferencing and Coordinated Entry (CE) Training
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Case conferencing meets bi-weekly via Zoom. If you have any questions, or are interested in coordinated entry access point ([link removed]) training for you or your team, please contact Mac: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]?subject=o%09Case%20Conferencing%20Meetings%20%26%20Coordinated%20Entry%20Access%20Point%20Training)


** Answering Questions on Homelessness
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Bill Falsey, ACEH Board of Directors, answers a commonly asked question "Hasn’t Anchorage received millions of dollars to solve homelessness?".

“There is a perception in the community that we have spent a tremendous amount of money on homelessness and gotten very little in return, but that is just not true.

Until very recently locally we spent almost nothing on homelessness, and we got is what we paid for. Happily we have started to see more infusions of resources from the federal government, but they’ve been all tied to COVID and they’re going to disappear when COVID leaves. What those monies have been used for are visible things like standing up the Sullivan Arena shelter, and that’s been a very helpful and vital endeavor, but it hasn’t given us new capacity, it hasn’t created a net number of new beds to address the homelessness problem that has grown over the years.”

– Bill Falsey, ACEH Board of Directors

This is video 7 in our series "Answering questions on homelessness, with the Anchorage Coalition to End Homelessness (ACEH)"

Please share, and subscribe to our channel for future videos and updates!
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** Local Housing & Homelessness Highlights
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Inspiring stories from the Anchorage community, news and information about housing and homelessness, and tangible ways you can get involved and help people in need.
View ACEH Members ([link removed])


** Covenant House Alaska
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How you can improve Alaska’s beleaguered human trafficking laws

Working to end human trafficking in Alaska is central to our mission at Covenant House Alaska. Yet, this will likely remain an uphill battle for as long as our laws remain in their current state.

Alaska’s human trafficking laws fail to address the breadth of trafficking crimes committed against children while lacking the nuance to ensure justice and support for survivors. With laws that experts consider to be the worst of any US state ([link removed]) , our representatives must make sweeping changes if we are to rid our state of human trafficking.
Read Full Post ([link removed])


** The Foraker Group
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New Report!
ALASKA'S NONPROFIT SECTOR: GENERATING ECONOMIC IMPACT
Alaska’s nonprofits stepped up during the pandemic and the nonprofit sector remains one of the state’s largest employers and revenue generators. In our latest report, we detail how nonprofits are part of everyday life in Alaska and illustrate the ways in which we are a major economic driver, leverage public funds for maximum return, partner with government in delivering essential services, provide community investment and civic engagement, and help stabilize the economy during the pandemic. Learn more ([link removed])
Read the Full Report ([link removed])


** GCI & Shiloh Community Housing Inc (SCHI)
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GCI donates Mountain View building to Shiloh Community Housing for future neighborhood resource center

GCI is helping a local nonprofit with its first step in creating a new neighborhood Resource Center in Mountain View aimed at disrupting the cycle of homelessness. The property, located at 3127 Commercial Drive, was used as an equipment storage facility by GCI. GCI’s donation of the building, valued at $860,000, to Shiloh Community Housing Inc. GCI will also include a commitment to provide internet connectivity to the facility and to sponsor internet service for patrons who visit the resource center.

Once completed, the building will be a one-stop shop for Alaskans in the Mountain View neighborhood to get the resources they seek. The Community Resource Center development plan includes providing an internet café to make service available to those who cannot afford it, a soup and sandwich shop, conference room rentals, physical and mental health services, resources for small business developers to launch their businesses, access to social services, and more. View the full press release here ([link removed])
Left to right: Pastor Emeritus, Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church; Dr. Alonzo B. Patterson, SCHI Organization Founder 2001; Delmonicia "Sheneé" Williams, SCHI President and CEO; Edward Wesley, SCHI Board of Director, Chair; Heather Handyside, GCI Vice President, Corporate Communications; Pastor Undra Parker, Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church
Press Release ([link removed])


** National Housing & Homelessness Highlights
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** National Council of Nonprofits
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The Evolving Legislative Priorities List
After several legislative setbacks, the President and congressional Democratic leaders are adjusting their priorities to focus on what might still be doable. At a news conference last week, President Biden said they would need to break up the Build Back Better Act into smaller pieces in order to “get as much as we can now and fight for the rest later.” He highlighted energy and environmental issues as ones he thinks have the most support. Biden’s comments indicate a change in Democratic strategy. At the end of the week, Speaker Pelosi sent out a “Dear Democratic Colleagues” letter ([link removed]) indicating a
shift toward upcoming bipartisan legislation. She stressed at the outset that the “House must pass a strong omnibus” appropriations bill covering all discretionary spending for the rest of the fiscal year. The Speaker explained, “This Omnibus … will address critical priorities for our country, including for our national security and for communities at home.” That legislation could be a vehicle for progress on many nonprofit policy priorities. In her letter, Speaker Pelosi also referenced their continuing efforts “to advance the provisions of the Build Back Better Act, including those related to child care and family care, health care, and climate,” as well as community violence prevention initiatives.


** National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC)
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NLIHC Releases New Report on Tenant Protections and Emergency Rental Assistance
The pandemic and resulting historic aid to renters have fundamentally shifted the housing landscape in the United States, in part because state and local jurisdictions across the country have recognized the crucial role tenant protections play in preventing evictions and ensuring housing stability for the most marginalized households. In 2021 alone, states and localities passed or implemented over 130 new laws or policies to protect tenants from eviction and keep them stably housed.

NLIHC released today a new report ([link removed]) , Tenant Protections and Emergency Rental Assistance during and beyond the COVID-19 Pandemic. The report provides a descriptive analysis of new tenant protections and emergency rental assistance (ERA)-related policies enacted or implemented by states and local governments in 2021. The protections and policies examined in the report include (1) state and local eviction moratoriums, (2) pauses on the eviction process to allow for ERA processing, (3) mandates to increase information about ERA and limit tenant fees, (4) increases to tenant representation during the eviction process and (5) protections that reduce discrimination and promote housing stability.
Read the Report ([link removed])


** Bring Impact to Your Inbox
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Receive emails with inspiring stories from the Anchorage community, news and information about housing and homelessness, and tangible ways you can get involved and help people in need.
Subscribe to the ACEH Weekly Digest ([link removed])
ACEH Weekly Digest for 1/25/2022
Please reach out to [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]?subject=ACEH%20Weekly%20Digest) if you have questions, suggestions, or resources you would like to share in the weekly digest.

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