Anchorage Ends Crusade Against Overnight Women’s Shelter

Should an abused women’s shelter be forced to house violent, drunk men alongside women?

This should not be a complicated question.  Every person with an ounce of common sense should answer in the same, emphatic way: Nope!  Not a chance.

But a commission in Anchorage, Alaska — apparently not filled with people possessing common sense — tried to force a women’s shelter to admit men into their facility.  

Here’s how that happened:

In January of 2018, a drunk and injured man dressed in a pink nightgown tried to gain access to the women’s shelter. The Hope Center sent the individual to the hospital to get needed care, even paying for the taxi.

Soon after, a complaint was filed against the Hope Center with the Anchorage Equal Rights Commission, claiming that the center had discriminated against this individual based on “gender identity.” But the Hope Center never violated the law. In fact, it helped this individual receive needed care.

The Hope Center is a Christian non-profit that serves everyone because of its love for Jesus. During the day, it provides daily meals, laundry and shower services, job skills training and clothing for both men and women in need. But in order to provide a safe space for homeless women—most of whom have survived abuse by men—the Hope Center keeps its overnight shelter women’s only. 

But in a rush to push religious beliefs out of the public square, an Anchorage commission twisted a law to try to force the Hope Center to admit biological men into its women’s shelter. Anchorage’s actions threatened to close the doors of the overnight shelter, potentially leaving the many homeless women it serves out in the cold. 

This is just the latest example of how the advocates of “gender inclusivity” hurt women.

Thanks to the good people at Alliance Defending Freedom, the women will still have this safe haven at the Hope Center.  After filing a lawsuit in federal court, the court issued an order that temporarily stopped the city from their misguided efforts at gender inclusivity. Now, Anchorage has agreed to end its attempt to force men into the shelter.

A great outcome over an issue that should’ve never arisen in the first place.

Hat Tip: Alliance Defending Freedom

 (U.S. Air Force photo by Janis El Shabazz)