The Alaska Coalition on Housing and Homelessness (an NLIHC state partner) and the Anchorage Coalition to End Homelessness (an NLIHC member) held an “Alaska Housing Summit” on August 21. The hybrid summit brought together advocates, service providers, funders, policymakers, and other stakeholders to discuss Alaska’s affordable housing challenges and solutions. Panelists reviewed data about Alaska’s housing needs, showcased creative solutions to expand access to affordable housing across the state, and proposed programmatic and policy changes to meet the unique needs of Alaskans. The summit agenda foregrounded the experiences of, and opportunities for, Alaska Native people, who make up nearly 20% of the state’s population and disproportionately experience poverty, housing insecurity, and homelessness.
The summit began with an acknowledgement of the unceded lands of the Dena’ina people. Panelists then spoke about the state of housing in Alaska, citing NLIHC’s Gap report, which shows that only 35 rental homes are available and affordable for every 100 extremely low-income households in the state, and NLIHC’s Out of Reach report, which shows that an hourly wage of $26.32 is needed in order to afford a modest two-bedroom rental home in Alaska. Representatives from the Association of Alaska Housing Authorities, an NLIHC member, explained how the 12 regional housing authorities in the groups’ network are the primary housing developers in the state and that costs for labor, materials, fuel, and infrastructure have increased dramatically, while federal funding has been flat for decades. A panel of local housing providers meanwhile showcased how they have creatively leveraged limited funds to complete new projects and highlighted the necessity of partnerships in overcoming the many barriers to developing and operating affordable housing in rural communities.
The keynote discussion underscored the connections between affordable housing, healthcare, and community safety and was moderated by the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness’s regional coordinator. Commissioners from the state’s Departments of Family and Community Services and Health, along with the Alaska Mental Health Trust and the Alaska Housing Finance Corporation, discussed ways they are collaborating to improve access to services, including supportive housing. The final panel focused on innovative solutions being piloted in Alaska, as well as policy and program changes needed to solve the affordable housing crisis. An update was also provided on the status of Housing Alaskans: A Public-Private Partnership, a statewide trust fund established over the past year to catalyze housing development across the state (see Memo, 10/11/22). The Partnership recently awarded its first round of funding to six non-profits, which will support the development of 80 new homes.
Representative Mary Peltola (D-AK) of the U.S. House of Representatives and Senator Dan Sullivan (R-AK) of the U.S. Senate provided remarks via video, with both noting the importance of affordable housing to the economic vitality of the state and identifying measures they are taking in Congress to bring more housing resources to Alaska. Senator Sullivan also announced an upcoming visit to Alaska by HUD Secretary Marcia L. Fudge. During the visit, her first trip to Alaska in this role, Secretary Fudge will participate in a roundtable discussion with the state’s Congressional delegation and housing leaders to learn more about the unique challenges Alaskans face and the programmatic changes needed to ensure federal funds reach the populations most in need. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) attended the summit in person and also gave remarks, noting that housing is “probably the most significant statewide issue we face right now” and that “everything is coming down to housing.” The Senator touted the new infrastructure funding she supported that is helping address development challenges in Alaska, along with the Senate’s recent reauthorization of the “Native American Housing Assistance and Self Determination Act” (see Memo, 8/14). She thanked the many service providers and advocates in attendance and implored attendees to look to her office as a partner.
The Alaska Housing Summit was sponsored in part by an NLIHC grant to support the engagement of multi-sector partners in housing advocacy through NLIHC’s Opportunity Starts at Home campaign. More than 100 people attended in person, along with more than 80 people who attended virtually. Organizers were pleased to bring so many housing stakeholders together to celebrate recent successes, build new partnerships, and further advocacy efforts. They look forward to participating in the upcoming meeting with the HUD Secretary and continuing to expand their coalitions to include more multi-sector partners in the future.
“Events like the Alaska Housing Summit are important for our ongoing advocacy efforts,” remarked Brian Wilson, executive director of the Alaska Coalition on Housing and Homelessness. “Our geography spans over 660,000 square miles, most of which isn’t connected by a road system. Having an opportunity for Alaskans from all corners of the state to convene in person to celebrate our successes and strategize how to overcome Alaska’s unique challenges doesn’t happen very frequently. The Opportunity Starts at Home campaign was pivotal in making this happen.”
“We are grateful to all the presenters who made the event possible, and the work they are doing in their communities,” said Owen Hutchinson, director of external relations for the Anchorage Coalition to End Homelessness. “Alaska has unique challenges to developing affordable housing and the innovations and partnerships that make it possible are because of the people we heard from at the summit. We are excited to work closely with the state departments and our partners in producing many more community-based projects.”