Juneau Assembly Considers Year-Round Shelter, Stricter Enforcement

0:00You're listening to Anchorage News today, powered by the Daily News Now. The Juno Assembly is looking at an ordinance to make the city's cold weather emergency shelter open year-round, instead of just from mid-October to mid-April. City leaders say this will provide a steady place for vulnerable residents to sleep every night and cut down on summer camping by unhoused folks. Earlier this week, at a committee meeting, Deputy City Manager Robert Barr explained that Juno already leads the state in permanent housing and recovery beds, but there's still a gap in options when the shelter closes in spring, many people end up without beds during warmer months. That leads to more encampments popping up across the borough, especially near the Glory Hall Shelter and the Mendenhall Valley. The city shut down a downtown campground three years ago, which used to help with summer stays, worsening the issue last summer with repeated. And camping clearings due to safety worries. To make the year-round shelter work, officials want stricter enforcement of camping rules.

1:01Current city code allows low-impact camping on public lands, but bans it on sidewalks and roads, and they'd ramp up checks now that shelter space would be available. Assemblymember Christine Woll backs more shelter space, but worries about tougher enforcement. The full Assembly plans public testimony and a vote on the ordinance at their regular meeting on April 6th. The Daily News Now is presented by our sponsor, linked in the description. What is cooler than cool, a pillow that plays your sound, S-O-L-I-S-O-L-E-P-L-O-D-C-A-I.