Town hall on lack of detox facilities in Anchorage slated for St. Anthony Church

CatholicAnchor.org
St. Anthony Church in Anchorage is the site of an upcoming town hall event on Feb. 15 to address the lack of detox facilities in Anchorage.

The evening, which runs 7-8 p.m., is being hosted by First Covenant Church and Catholic Native Ministry.

A flyer on the event notes that currently there are only 14 detox beds serving anchorage and the Mat-Su Valley. This is the same number of beds as Juneau and Fairbanks despite 10 times the population.

Today, 916 fewer people are being medically detoxed in Anchorage annually than in 2012, according to the notice.

Anchorage Mayor Ethan Berkowitz along with Randall Burns of the state’s Department of Health and Social Services and a representative from state’s Department of Commerce are scheduled to attend the public event.