Washington Gorge Action Program updates Skamania County on housing, energy and senior supports

Jennifer Pullano, director of the Washington Gorge Action Program, briefed the Skamania County Board of County Commissioners on services and program changes during the board’s July 15 meeting in Stevenson.

Pullano said the program used additional funding that arrived in October to help families reduce summer utility balances and provided a targeted air-conditioning program for seniors. “We were able to purchase several air conditioning units … I think 10 went out to Skamania County of the 25 that we had,” Pullano said.

The update summarized recent and ongoing work across housing, food and supportive services. Pullano said the program’s family resource center — staffed by a new caseworker identified as Itati — has assisted six households in the past month with items such as applications for Social Security disability, household goods and case management; that program currently has funding through March 31.

Pullano described pilot health partnerships, including a Medical Teams International dental clinic held recently in Stevenson that served nine families. “Those will happen throughout the next year, and we’re happy to continue hosting them at the housing office, the food bank and housing office,” she said, adding the agency had written a letter of support for the clinic’s funding.

On housing, Pullano said WAGAP and partner agencies provided June assistance to 17 households with rental assistance and to four households with permanent supportive housing. She said the county’s emergency shelter and emergency family shelter have been full, with occasional short vacancies for unit turnover.

Pullano described a regional houseless collaborative covering five counties — Skamania, Klickitat, Wasco, Hood River and Sherman — coordinated with Mid-Columbia Community Action Council and local housing authorities. She said the collaborative’s 2022 strategic plan guides shelter, services, advocacy and efforts to increase housing units and that WAGAP will share a quarterly report of 2024 accomplishments soon.

The agency notified the board that it decided to close Second Hand Rose, its thrift store that had been temporarily shuttered for building remodel work. Pullano said the board approved the closure because operating costs and constrained grant funding made the store unsustainable. “We made that decision to close Second Hand Rose,” she said, adding that no staff were laid off. The agency will instead maintain a resource closet of essential items (new socks, undergarments, household goods, toiletries) and use flexible grant dollars such as Community Services Block Grant funds to buy items that remove barriers to employment or housing (for example, a microwave), Pullano said.

Pullano also raised a regional funding shift: a crime victims grant that had served Klickitat County did not continue as of July 1. She said Skamania County’s providers might absorb some referrals and that on average about five active cases per month had been served by that grant in the past. “Any new referrals for crime victims specifically for the region would potentially be routed through Skamania County,” she said.

Food security was another focus. Pullano warned of expected increases in demand after recent federal reductions to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program funding and urged residents to use local food bank resources early in the month to stretch SNAP benefits. She recounted challenges after the regional Second Harvest distributor’s integrity issues and described how trucking and insurance limitations had complicated redistribution of donated food.

Pullano closed with a list of upcoming community events: a suicide awareness and prevention training tailored for veterans on July 21 at the Stevenson Community Library at 5:30 p.m.; a Senior Financial Wellness Fair on Aug. 20 at the Hagel Center in Stevenson from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. (lunch provided); and participation at the National Night Out event in Stevenson.

The board took no formal policy action on the program update. After the presentation the meeting recessed into an executive session under state law to discuss the performance of a public employee, then returned and adjourned the regular meeting.

Votes at a glance: The board approved a motion to adjourn the meeting. The motion was moved and seconded, carried on a voice vote of three ayes, and the meeting was adjourned at 10:37 a.m.