State officials say there are no longer evacuees from Western Alaska staying at mass shelters in Anchorage, after efforts to relocate them to longer-term housing.
Nearly 400 people have moved to hotels around the city, according to Jeremy Zidek, a spokesperson for the state’s emergency response. He said, in the coming weeks, the state will likely support more evacuees moving into hotel rooms, which officials often refer to as “non-congregate shelters.”
“We anticipate that people who have been staying with friends and family will come forward and kind of identify themselves as needing shelter, and we do have a process to get them those non-congregate shelters,” Zidek said.
The move to hotel rooms represents the next phase in the state’s emergency response to the catastrophic storms that slammed into Western Alaska’s coast on Oct. 12, bringing widespread destruction and displacing hundreds of people indefinitely. State officials say they will continue to support evacuees and plan to move those who cannot return to their communities to temporary homes as storm clean-up efforts continue.
Zidek said the state is doing everything it can to house families together.
“In Western Alaska, it's common to see multi-generational households,” he said. “Where possible, we've tried to house them together so they can maintain that sense of community.”
Aaron Samson, an 18-year-old from Kipnuk, was staying at the Alaska Airlines Center shelter until Tuesday, when he and his family moved to a hotel. He said it’s a relief – there were too many people at the mass shelter.
“We got sent to the Aspen hotel until further notice,” he said. “Feels so good to be like, kind of like, insulated from all the people.”
Samson’s family got lucky – their hotel has a kitchen. But they’ll still have the option of getting meals, food boxes and traditional foods, provided by organizations like the Salvation Army, the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium and the Food Bank of Alaska.
The Red Cross was managing the mass shelters in Anchorage. Now that they’re closed, many of the nearly 300 out-of-state Red Cross volunteers will be returning home. But according to a representative, the Red Cross will continue to work with the state and other organizations to provide ongoing logistical, medical and behavioral health support.
Evacuees currently staying with friends or family who would like to shelter in hotels can register for the state’s individual assistance program, or call the shelter assistance line at 907-759-6927.
