Resident Found Dead in Alaska Home for Alcoholics
Jan. 02--A 54-year-old man died New Year's Day at a much-debated new home for chronic alcoholics in Anchorage, police say.
The death is the first at Karluk Manor, where former homeless are allowed to drink in their private efficiency apartments. The residential project, run by nonprofit RurAl CAP, opened Dec. 8 with much of the rent covered by federal housing vouchers.
At about 11:30 a.m. Sunday, employees making a regular hourly check found resident John Kort unresponsive in his apartment and called 911, said Melinda Freemon, RurAl CAP director of supportive housing.
Police were told that the man had passed out and appeared to be intoxicated, said police spokeswoman Marlene Lammers.
"Exact cause of death will be determined by the medical examiner's office," she said. "But we believe that alcohol and maybe prescription drugs may have been a factor in his death."
Karluk Manor operates under the "Housing First" model that allows residents to drink in their rooms in hopes that a warm bed and safe place to stay will encourage successful recovery. The plan is also meant to reduce costly emergency room visits and arrests.
While the approach has met with success Outside, critics worried that the free or low-cost housing would bring more alcoholics to Fairview and remove the incentive for people to clean up on their own.
Rescuers were unable to revive Kort, who Freemon says was living on the streets of Anchorage before moving into Karluk Manor. He lived at the Fifth Avenue center, located in a former motel on the edge of downtown, for two weeks or more before his death, she said.
The death underscores the need for early intervention for chronic alcoholics, she said.
"He was just not able to get well from his alcoholism," Freemon said. "Many people will be able to, but he was not."
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