The City and Borough Assembly Task Force on Homelessness held its second meeting Tuesday, brainstorming numerous options for fighting the rise of homelessness in Alaska’s capital city.<\/p>\n
One of the many ideas on the table was considering the long-term role of the Glory Hole. The homeless shelter and soup kitchen resides in the heart of downtown Juneau, but there have been attempts in the past to move it away.<\/p>\n
The task force discussed this possibility, looking at the possibility of moving the shelter closer to medical services. Police Chief Bryce Johnson — who is a task member for the time being until he leaves for his new post in Idaho<\/a> — said the shelter could be in a more suitable location.<\/p>\n “If you were to rebuild the city from scratch,” Johnson said, “you would not put the Glory Hole where it’s at.”<\/p>\n [Where can a chronic inebriate sleep?<\/a>]<\/p>\n Glory Hole Director (and task force member) Mariya Lovischuk said that an ideal location for the shelter would be somewhere with plenty of parking and on flat land instead of on a hillside. She also said it’s not the time to move, and that there are more pressing issues with the shelter than its location.<\/p>\n “I think there are so many questions other than where it belongs,” Lovischuk said. “I think the money question is a huge question. I think land in Juneau is a huge question. I think there are so many questions that go with that question (of location). Is that really the priority?”<\/p>\n The issue of the shelter’s location is a long-standing one. Past attempts to move the Glory Hole have centered around moving the homeless population away from downtown businesses and tourist areas.<\/p>\n Downtown business owners began a movement in 2001 to move the shelter away from downtown, but the Glory Hole Board of Directors voted to keep it on Franklin Street<\/a>, saying that if the Glory Hole would leave downtown, the homeless issue would worsen.<\/p>\n Cindy Dau, who is not on the task force but has attended and contributed to both meetings, said she felt that the shelter’s space could be utilized better. She pointed out that Lovischuk and her staff do a good job of filling the space they have, but that if someone looked at the floor plan there could be more room for people in need of shelter.<\/p>\n “I’m not the expert in space usage,” Dau said after the meeting. “There have just got to be different ways that we can get people in there so we don’t have to hear that they’re cold in the winter. That’s what I’m trying to do, is don’t be full in the winter. There’s got to be a way to shelter people.”<\/p>\n More toilets needed<\/span><\/p>\n The Glory Hole wasn’t the only major topic discussed Tuesday.<\/p>\n The task force currently includes seven members, including Chair and Assembly member Debbie White, Assembly members Maria Gladziszewski and Norton Gregory, Chief Housing Officer Scott Ciambor, Johnson (who will soon be replaced on the task force by Deputy Chief Ed Mercer), Lovischuk and Polaris House<\/a> Director Bruce Van Dusen.<\/p>\n