Yakima leaders review homelessness response: county funding, police calls and new outreach pilots

Yakima County and Yakima City elected officials met in a joint study session to review the county's homeless response system, recent data on housing exits and police service calls, and local pilots aimed at street outreach and cleanup.

Esther, a Yakima County Human Services staff member, told the council and commissioners the county's current homeless-response budget is heavily weighted toward rental assistance and shelter and that some program amounts are set by the state. "The big number here, I think, that I always get drawn to is the 57,068, exits to permanent housing," Esther said, adding the county has "housed almost 6,000 people out of homelessness into permanent housing" since the county took over the program in 2020. She said the county's rental-assistance contract in the current grant round is about $3,600,000 and covers June 2024 through July 2026.

The nut of the session was how that funding mix shapes local options: Esther and commissioners said rental assistance (including rapid rehousing and HEN) is time-limited in most cases (rapid rehousing typically covers initial move-in costs; HEN requires monthly DSHS recertification and targets people who cannot work). Permanent supportive housing remains the only permanent option and requires both a history of homelessness and a qualifying long-term disability, she said.

Captain Janice of the Yakima Police Department presented…