Providence directs nearly $1M to homeless causes in Anchorage

Providence Hospital in Anchorage is donating a little less than a million dollars to programs focused on ending homelessness.

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The announcement was made Wednesday to mild surprise and light applause at the Anchorage Assembly’s committee on homelessness. A representative from the hospital, Dr. Richard Mandsager, briefly explained how they’d decided to strategically direct $975,000 toward various charity and social service programs.

The city’s homeless coordinator, Nancy Burke, said the funds will go towards padding out existing programs, for example $60,000 to RurAL CAP for transitional family housing. In other cases, it’s extra money for programs that are fairly new, like $75,000 to a “landlord risk pool” used lieu of security deposits for those in critical need of housing.

“It’s like oil in the system because so many of the programs are functioning on very tight budgets, the state’s reducing, there haven’t been increasing for grants in many years,” Burke said during a brief interview. “Having a little extra resource in the system to do new things is really valuable.”

Though Providence has previously made funds available for individual grants, Burke said this is the first time she can recall the hospital proactively coordinating with service-providers like this. Part of the reason, she explained, is that the hospitals hopes to divert people away from repeated emergency room treatment by investing in solutions to house and rehabilitate individuals.

The move comes amid a broader change in how the municipality pays for services for the most vulnerable residents.

“To really change the thinking, we have to change how the money comes into the system,” Burke said. “So I think Providence stepping forward and being willing to do this is very significant.”

Though the majority of the funds are going straight to service providers, a large chunk is being distributed through the United Way of Anchorage.