Comings and goings

Farewell for now, Meg

After a dynamic three-plus years at the helm, Meg Zaletel has stepped down as executive director of the Anchorage Coalition to End Homelessness. Meg brought vision, energy, and a fierce commitment to the belief that everyone deserves a safe place to call home. Her leadership helped shape a stronger, more coordinated system of care for our neighbors experiencing homelessness.

Under Meg’s leadership, we worked with funders to convert three hotels into housing for those with extremely low incomes, a first for Anchorage. We helped to de-compress the mass care shelter at the Sullivan Arena when it was shut down in 2023. We began coordinating street outreach for our community. We provided guidance and staff support to the Anchorage Continuum of Care to update our community’s strategic plan, Anchored Home. It provides a housing-focused answer to homelessness that tailors solutions to individual needs. We spent a year collaborating with partners on a rapid rehousing project we called Next Step that saw 177 people move from homelessness to housed including individuals from two encampments.

Even on her final day, Meg was driving projects forward — helping launch the #OneUnexpectedThing social media campaign, which highlights the often-unseen causes of homelessness.

She was a powerful leader who never let us forget that housing is the effective, efficient and economical answer to homelessness.

Alaska Housing Summit: Learn what works and shape what’s next

Don’t miss out on the Alaska Housing Summit 2025, a statewide housing-focused gathering set for Aug. 19-20 at Southcentral Foundation’s Nuka Learning Institute in Anchorage. Housing providers, healthcare professionals, housing developers, government workers, policymakers and others interested in housing are encouraged to attend.

The in-person event always sells out, and this year’s featured presenter will share valuable stories and experiences. Chief Seattle Club, a Native-led housing and human services agency, will share its mission and successes from a drop-in day center in Pioneer Square to housing assistance, legal services, a Native art job training program and more.

Register here.

A limited number of scholarships are available for those who are currently experiencing homelessness or who have recent lived experience. Reach out directly to Owen Brooks if you or someone you know is interested in a scholarship.

Those who can’t attend in person can watch online. A link to the livestream will be posted on the event page.

The packed agenda will span two days, bringing in the voices of those with lived expertise and putting spotlights on Alaska innovations from Nome to Sitka.

The Alaska Coalition on Housing and Homelessness and the Anchorage Coalition to End Homelessness are co-sponsoring the event. The cost is $150, which includes lunch both days and an Aug. 19 mixer at The Nave. 

How does public transit impact you?

The Municipality is updating their transit-human services plan to more broadly address the needs of transportation-disadvantaged populations. They want to hear from riders as well as service providers. If you'd like to participate in their survey, visit the survey website HERE.

January count showed small increase in homelessness

Our community’s annual Point in Time Count of those experiencing homelessness took place in January and revealed a small increase in overall numbers. The count showed that 1,748 people were unsheltered or staying in shelters and transitional housing, up by 39 from a year earlier. With more year-round shelter beds, more people were staying in year-round shelter and fewer were in the seasonal shelter spots. But more were unsheltered, too.