HHAND Commission Monthly Meeting November 2026

The Municipality of Anchorage HHAND Commission held its monthly meeting on November 13, 2026. Members approved the agenda and prior meeting minutes. Staff reported that municipally funded shelters were full: Linda’s Place was at its 150-bed surge capacity, and East 56 had 160 beds, with plans to increase capacity to 200 by the end of November pending Assembly approval. The 2027 municipal budget process is continuing, with no change requests reported so far; discussion included alcohol-tax and general-fund support. Staff clarified that a $500,000 alcohol-tax grant administered through the Police Department goes to Catholic Social Services and supports operations at the Third Avenue Resource and Navigation Center. No new contract award or procurement approval was made at the meeting. Staff said program timelines may shift due to staffing capacity and that future RFPs and grant opportunities would be brought to the commission when available. A grant agreement was signed for a health information-sharing initiative, with implementation work underway.

The commission discussed whether to document a process for acknowledging public comments and, when appropriate, forwarding them to the Assembly or Mayor through an informational memo. No change to the rules was adopted; a commissioner volunteered to draft possible language for review at a future meeting. Staff also invited commissioners to consider a resolution or public comment concerning the future of Linda’s Place, which is expected to be considered by the Assembly in December. Other updates covered cold-weather shelter planning and Project Homeless Connect. The commission adjourned; no procurement-related vote or spending action was taken.