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WAGAP director outlines programs serving Skamania, Klickitat counties; shelter and housing needs highlighted
Summary
Jennifer Paletta, director of WAGAP, reviewed the agency's housing, food, energy assistance and outreach programs, reported 2024 service volumes and described efforts to expand family resources and shelter options; commissioners asked about facility plans and state policy impacts on housing.
Jennifer Paletta, director of Washington Gorge Action Programs (WAGAP), gave commissioners an overview of the agency’s programs serving Skamania and Klickitat counties, describing food, housing, energy assistance, shelter and prevention work and outlining recent service volumes and funding challenges.
Paletta told the Skamania County Board of Commissioners that WAGAP served about 39% of the two-county population in 2024 (about 14,000 individuals) and described core services: brick-and-mortar and mobile food banks, emergency shelter, permanent supportive housing for seniors and people with disabilities, rapid rehousing and eviction-prevention rental assistance. She said WAGAP provides family resource centers, community health worker (Pathways) care coordination, youth services and a community thrift store that issues vouchers for household goods.
Why it matters: WAGAP is a primary provider of safety-net services in the Gorge region; commissioners probed capacity, facilities and how state and federal policy changes might affect local demand. Paletta said the agency prevented evictions and helped place people into longer-term housing through regional collaboratives and partnerships.
Selected program details and numbers Paletta provided: WAGAP operates nine locations across five communities; in a recent year the agency distributed more than 16,000 food boxes, provided about 6,000 shelter bed nights and supported hundreds of households through energy-assistance and legal services. She described the Mid Columbia Houseless Collaborative (a regional partnership) and cited outcomes including transitions into long-term housing and preserved affordable units.
Commissioner questions focused on facilities and funding. Paletta said the agency is exploring options — including buying and renovating a hotel, placing modular housing on land the agency owns elsewhere in the region, and reinforcing existing shelter capacity — but that capital funding is limited and county-level indicators can make grant-funded projects harder to justify. She also discussed how state rent-cap legislation and federal voucher availability could change local demand for assistance.
Direct quotes are from Jennifer Paletta and from commissioners as recorded in the meeting transcript. Ending: Commissioners thanked Paletta for the overview and discussed potential county support and partnership on shelter and family resource work; no formal county action was taken during the presentation.
