FRANKLYWNOW - Homeward Bound program for Anchorage homeless to close

A long time program that helps homeless people get off the streets and find sobriety is getting set to close its doors at the end of March.

Homeward Bound has operated in Mountain View for more than 20 years. RurAL CAP Supportive Housing Director Corinne O’Neill said the program has had success but government funding has shifted away from transitional housing programs toward a new model that offers chronic inebriates permanent housing, called “housing first.”

“The Department of Housing and Urban Development in the last five years has said ‘housing first’ is the model to use,” O’Neill said. “It is the most cost effective, it is the most effective model, it has the best outcomes. I think RurAL CAP agrees with that change, so we are reallocating our federal funding from this project to operate 325 East Third.”

That facility, located at the intersection of East Third Avenue and Cordova Street, currently belongs to the municipality. O’Neill said a private developer is purchasing it and putting in 20 apartment units that will provide permanent housing for chronic inebriates.

She said the building will be managed much like a similar property, Karluk Manor. Residents will be able to drink, or get help if they choose.

“Generally they are operated the same way,” she said. “Intensive case management services, access to mental health and substance services and 24 hour staffing.”

The new facility is expected to open in the fall of next year. O’Neill said Homeward Bound will close at the end of March.

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