Advocacy by the people

A longtime Anchorage advocacy group of — and for — those who have lived experience in homelessness is again standing up for those who are unhoused.

The Homeless Resource Advocacy Council —  described as “an autonomous body providing legitimate voice and representation for individuals with lived experience of homelessness” — met in early June at Mountain View Library.

“Our purpose is to be the authentic voice of what is and what is not helpful,” said Roger Branson, acting chair and one of the early members of HRAC, as it is known.

HRAC is being reconstituted with support of the Homeless Prevention and Response System Advisory Council. The Advisory Council guides the work of the Anchorage Continuum of Care, the network of services for those experiencing homelessness. Branson, who has lived expertise in homelessness, also serves on the Advisory Council.

Anyone who has experienced homelessness in the past or is experiencing it currently can take part in HRAC as a voting member.

“The person receiving the help is ultimately the judge of how well we do,” Branson told the group in June.

The group talked about issues with shelters, the challenge of getting housing, the upheaval of camp abatements and other hard things. One woman who attended said she lost her housing when she was going through cancer treatment. She is staying at the Municipality’s 56th Avenue Shelter.

They also noted that some things are going right. They were in the room together to make things better, not only for themselves, but for the entire houseless community.

The Anchorage Coalition to End Homelessness is supporting HRAC’s work and will share meeting dates on social media and on our community calendar as the information becomes available.