Mat-Su Homeless Needs Assessment

In Spring of 2021, the Mat-Su Health Foundation hired Agnew::Beck Consulting to conduct a homelessness needs assessment for the Matanuska-Susitna Borough.  ​

Acknowledgements Thank you to all the Mat-Su residents, organizations and partners who participated in this process (in alphabetical order): • Alissa Zank, Alaska Veterans Health Administration  • Ashley Peltier, Connect Mat-Su • Barbara Mongar, Mat-Su Re-Entry Coalition • Cameron Johnson, AMG (Housing Developer) • DaJonee' Hale, Alaska Coalition on Housing & Homelessness • Dave Rose, Mat-Su Coalition on Housing & Homelessness • Francis Seals, youth representative • Ginger Bear, Family Promise of Mat-Su • Jennifer Smerud, Alaska Housing Finance Corporation • John Rozzi, Valley Charities, Inc. • John Weaver, Valley Residential Services • Kelsey Anderson, Mat-Su Planning Department • Kevin Crozier, Kevin Crozier, RE/MAX (Housing Developer) • Kristin Clark, Choosing Our Roots • Lisa Wade, Chickaloon Village Traditional Council • Michelle Overstreet, My House • Polly Beth Odom, Daybreak, Inc. • Stephen Adams, Knik Tribal Council • Todd Smoldon, Office of the Governor • Wendy Dodge, Mat-Su School District: Families in Transition  Additionally, we thank all of the people with lived experience who participated in this project and helped inform the outcomes.  

Better understand the trends and extent of homelessness in MatSu ​

| Due to the expansive geography and limited infrastructure of the Mat-Su Borough, homelessness looks different than it does in more urban settings. It might not take the form of someone panhandling on a busy street corner, or people gathering outside of an emergency shelter. It could be a combat veteran camping in the woods, far out of sight or mind of most residents. It could be a family living out of their car, or someone couch-surfing through a winter. Through this project, we developed an estimate of the population of people experiencing homelessness and broke them down into subcategories to better understand the scale of the problem.  ​

Reach out to stakeholders to gather perspectives

 | We talked with providers directly serving the homeless population, as well as those more on the fringes, such as transportation providers and educators. We also talked with people with lived experience. In each conversation we asked about the efficacy of the current system to identify needs and areas for improvement. ​

Prepare a gaps model

 | With this estimated population, we were able to analyze the current homelessness response system in comparison. The goal was to answer the question: is the capacity to house people experiencing homelessness meeting the demand for homeless services in Mat-Su? We found areas of insufficient services as well as an area that exceeded needs. ​

Compile findings and share recommendations

 | The end result is a proposed framework to address homelessness in Mat-Su. We developed three recommendations to improve the system, which largely center around better coordination between providers. We developed four recommendations to fill the gaps in the response system. These recommendations aim to bolster diversion; build an intake, assessment and referral system; and increase supportive housing capacity.  ​

Mat-Su Valley, Alaska