Every year, Juneau conducts a federally-required count of homeless individuals. Results from the 2019 Point in Time count (PIT), which occurred on January 22, show homelessness numbers, overall, are stable and slightly lower than they’ve been since 2016.

“The Point in Time count is one of the data tools we have to monitor our year-to-year progress in addressing homelessness. The count has some recognized shortcomings, including undercounting unsheltered people and homeless youth, so it is important not to consider it an absolute number of people utilizing homelessness services,” City and Borough of Juneau’s Housing and Homelessness Services Coordinator Irene Gallion said.

Emergency sheltering is provided by the Glory Hall, AWARE, and Juneau Youth Services. Transitional housing is provided by Saint Vincent de Paul, AWARE, Gastineau Human Services, and Juneau Youth Services. Transitional housing is intended to provide a more stable environment than emergency shelters while an individual pursues permanent housing. Residents of the Juneau Housing First Forget-Me-Not Manor are considered permanently housed, so are not included in the PIT count. If the Housing First residence did not exist, the PIT count would likely include about 32 more individuals.

The Point in Time Count is required by The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Communities that receive certain HUD funding for homelessness conduct the count in January of each year.

For more information, contact CBJ Housing & Homelessness Coordinator Irene Gallion at 586-0623 or [email protected].

The City and Borough of Juneau is holding an informational session on understanding the tools and resources communities use to address homelessness.  The presentation will take place on March 11, 12 p.m. in City Hall Chambers.

Housing & Homelessness Services Coordinator Irene Gallion’s presentation is geared for elected officials and public servants who need to understand the bureaucratic structures of responding to homelessness. The talk will focus on three Federal definitions of homelessness, the standards for a “continuum of care,” and how Juneau’s housing and service providers address each of the elements. In addition, Gallion will talk on the various private and governmental sources of funding for homelessness services. This informational session is about existing structures, not advocacy.

For more information, contact Housing & Homelessness Services Coordinator Irene Gallion at 586-0623 or [email protected]. If you plan on attending, an RSVP is appreciated though not required.

Donations are needed for the 8th Juneau Project Homeless Connect that will take place on Wednesday, Jan. 23 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Juneau Arts & Culture Center. The event is organized by the Juneau Coalition on Housing & Homelessness.

Project Homeless Connect will have close to 50 service providers to deliver immediate resources to people in need. These include haircuts and foot massages, and health and wellness services like flu shots, veteran support, housing assistance, Permanent Fund Dividend registration, and more. The event is free and open to all; breakfast and lunch will be provided. Donations such as gift cards, new white and wool socks, hats and gloves (adult men and women sizes) are being accepted. These items can be dropped off at Gruening Park Apartments, 1800 Northwood Drive. Please contact Tamara Rowcroft or Shari Partin at 780-4500. Juneau Animal Control and Protection officers will also be at the event offering pet services and resources. They’re accepting donations of canned food or new bags of pet food, which can be dropped off at Juneau Animal Rescue (formerly Gastineau Humane Society).

The first step for a participant at Project Homeless Connect is to participate in the annual Point In Time Homeless Count where communities across the country survey individuals experiencing homelessness. The count is organized by U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and used for federal funding decisions and homeless assistance program development. Volunteers that have signed up to administer surveys are asked to show up at the JACC at 8:15 a.m. on the day of the event for refresher training. Please contact Chief Housing Officer Scott Ciambor at [email protected] if you have questions. Information on previous counts and additional homeless information is available on the CBJ Housing Programs webpage.

For more information, contact CBJ Chief Housing Officer Scott Ciambor at 586-0220 or [email protected].

Juneau citizens stand ready to support those in need, but some struggle with the best way to help people experiencing homelessness. At the local government level, the City and Borough of Juneau is working with community partners to ensure the community’s most vulnerable residents get permanent housing when it becomes available.

Collaborating with the Juneau Coalition on Housing and Homelessness, CBJ’s Housing and Homelessness Coordinator Irene Gallion is helping to establish a system called “coordinated entry.” It’s a way of stewarding funds towards housing individuals most in need. Think of the community’s homeless population as a bell curve. Those at the far right of the curve have a disability, are frequent users of the system, including shelters and emergency services, and are defined as “chronically homeless.” Coordinated entry helps the Coalition focus on and house the chronically homeless. By focusing on this population, communities are also reducing the use of community resources and lowering the cost of emergency services.

Here’s how coordinated entry works: The first step is taken by the Coalition’s street outreach team, which is made up of “Navigators.” A Navigator’s primary job is to make sure that individuals experiencing homelessness are getting basic needs met, such as food, shelter, and health care. The Navigators will work with people experiencing homelessness to do a survey that includes questions about health and medications, cognitive function, substance use, experience of abuse or trauma, interactions with emergency services, personal finances and other self-care issues. The survey is long, and may take a few visits before the navigator has all the information on an individual. The survey is entered into the statewide Homeless Management Information System database, and the individual is assigned a “vulnerability score” based on their answers. Surveys are done on a voluntary basis; no one is forced to participate in coordinated entry, or any other homelessness services in the community. To get a sense of the number of residents that engage with the local homeless system, a “community dashboard” (https://www.icalliances.org/alaska-communities-dashboard/) is available that shows data on a quarterly basis – including the number of chronically homeless.

When housing becomes available, the CBJ will use the database to generate a list of individuals ranked from highest vulnerability to lowest. CBJ consults with other members of the Coalition, like shelter operators, health care providers, and counselors. Starting with the individual at the top of the list, the group will determine if that person would be a good match for the housing available. If they are, that person gets it. But there may be good reasons why the person is not a good match. For instance, someone who likes to set things on fire or has a history of assaulting their neighbors would not be a good fit for the apartment-style, high-density housing that’s available at the Juneau Housing First Collaborative Forget-Me-Not Manor. For someone like this, the group develops a plan to get other assistance in place and, ideally, more appropriate housing.

During the initial launch this winter, the coordinated entry system will be used to house residents in the Juneau Housing First Collaborative Forget-Me-Not Manor. Coordinated entry will eventually be used for other housing options as well, such as projects that receive tax credits or federal funding.

As CBJ and the Coalition work on establishing and launching coordinated entry, community members can also do something to help people experiencing homelessness: Support the member organizations of the Juneau Coalition on Housing & Homelessness by volunteering or providing donations. These organizations are the experts in the field and know how to leverage volunteer time and financial support.