Summary
Anchorage officials once again tried to use an ordinance to force the Downtown Hope Center’s shelter to admit males and let them sleep alongside women who have suffered physical and sexual abuse. The ordinance also shuts down the center’s ability to communicate about its religious beliefs on its website and on other signs posted around the center.
Case timeline
- July 2021: ADF attorneys representing the Hope Center once again filed suit in federal court after the Anchorage Assembly amended the city ordinance in an attempt to find a new way to target Downtown Hope Center and force it to let males sleep next to women who have been abused.
- December 2021: The district court issued an order ruling that the city of Anchorage cannot enforce the city ordinance to require the Downtown Hope Center to admit males and let them sleep alongside women who have suffered physical and sexual abuse.
