Salvation Army, which is providing coordinated care services at Centennial Campground, said 34 people, including four families, were moved into family shelters at McKinnell House, Clare House, and other semi-permanent housing on Thursday.
Centennial Campground is serving as a sanctioned campground for homeless people in Anchorage. Leftists are referring to it as a “concentration camp.”
“As of 5 pm last night there were no more children at the camp,“ said Lt. Colonel Doug Tollerud, divisional commander of The Salvation Army Alaska.
About 180 campers remain at Centennial, with 75% of them coming from illegal campgrounds in woods around Anchorage, and 56 coming from the now-shuttered Sullivan Arena, which was taken over by Mayor Ethan Berkowitz in 2020 to house homeless, transients, and vagrants.
“I’m grateful for all of our community partners who have stepped up immediately to place people in shelter, services, and permanent housing from Centennial Campground,” said Mayor Dave Bronson. “As we work together in collaboration to continue to make placements, this is a testament to the heart of Anchorage in helping our city’s most vulnerable get access to safe and successful solutions.”
Salvation Army is also facilitating donation management for the campground.
Salvation Army asks people to bring donations to the Salvation Army Safe Campus — McKinnell House — located at 1712 A Street, Anchorage, AK 99501, in order to maintain organization and prioritize items coming in. Salvation Army requests that no donations come directly to the campground due to limited storage there.
Three or four vehicles from Salvation Army, shown above, were at the campground Friday morning, and Parks and Recreation staff are walking through the campground hourly picking up trash, checking for food that could attract bears, and helping campers. The city has distributed over 100 bear proof cans to the campers. Security is on site. The Anchorage Coalition to End Homelessness is on the sidelines, not committed to helping campers at this time because the group objects to the campground for political reasons. Its CEO is Assemblywoman Meg Zaletel, who is firmly opposed to anything the Bronson Administration does.
• Handheld lamps (battery operated) or flashlights
• New or gently used sweatshirts & sweatpants
• New or gently used boots or tennis shoes
• Camping mats (under sleeping bag)
• Household electronics (toasters, microwaves, etc.)
All information related to the Salvation Army’s role as client care coordinators at Centennial Campground, as well as information about in-kind and monetary donations can be found on their website on the Centennial Campground Information link at Alaska.salvationarmy.org
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