Pierce County Continuum of Care seeks broader participation after charter revamp, eyes $3.5 million youth homelessness award

Cynthia Stewart, co-chair of the Greater Pierce County Continuum of Care, told the Lakewood City Council on March 10 that homelessness in Pierce County is not diminishing and the CoC has reorganized to broaden jurisdictional and community participation.

The CoC has “officially renamed our continuum of care to the greater Pierce County continuum,” co-chair Michael Yoder said, and leaders have adopted a new charter, a smaller governing board and a larger general membership model intended to drive communitywide solutions and strengthen HUD funding applications.

The change matters because the CoC is the local entity HUD expects to set homeless response policies, manage the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) and coordinate federal CoC program funds. Stewart said HUD’s technical assistance informed the charter changes and that one goal is to be more competitive for federal awards.

County staff member Devon Isaacson, serving as the CoC collaborative applicant, explained the CoC will work with the county on grant applications and HMIS operations. She and presenters emphasized a two-track planning process: the county’s comprehensive plan update for homelessness and the CoC’s strategic plan (now overdue for a 2024–29 update) that the group intends to align for consistent countywide policy and performance metrics.

A central recent development is a provisional Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program (YHDP) award. Stewart and Yoder said HUD has provisionally awarded Pierce County $3,500,000 to address unaccompanied youth ages 18–24, contingent on a HUD‑approved coordinated community plan. “They think $3,500,000 would be a figure that could help you meet the need, but you come back with a plan for how you would spend that money, and then we can release it,” Yoder said.

Presenters described the YHDP application process as a multi-step award: HUD offered the provisional allocation, the Pierce County Youth Action Board (a youth-led group with lived experience) and county staff are drafting the coordinated plan, and HUD must approve the plan before funds are released and contracts executed. If approved and the CoC meets plan metrics, the presenters said the funds are expected to roll into the CoC’s ongoing funding after an initial demonstration period.

Council members asked how the revamped CoC relates to a separate Pierce County-led “Unified Regional Approach to Homelessness” study. Stewart and Yoder said the two efforts are related but distinct: the CoC could function as a unified, countywide body in HUD’s model, but other processes are underway to examine what vehicle elected officials and jurisdictions prefer for coordinated regional governance. Presenters said outreach to cities across the county is ongoing and asked Lakewood to reappoint a jurisdictional designee to the CoC governing board if the city chooses to do so.

Presenters outlined governing-board composition under the new charter: five preassigned ex officio seats (including Pierce County, City of Tacoma and a City of Lakewood designee), a tribal seat, a seat for the state Department of Children, Youth and Families, seats reserved for local funders and a school superintendent designee, plus up to 18 community partner seats. Stewart and Yoder said the CoC will emphasize representation from populations with lived experience of homelessness and from population‑specific service domains (veterans, youth, behavioral health, etc.).

Presenters warned that HUD funding could be cut and said the CoC is planning for potential reductions while also improving application quality to grow future awards. They also described the county’s role providing two MOUs to support the CoC: one for the collaborative applicant (grant administration) and one to manage HMIS.

Council members pressed for clarity about ex officio status: the CoC presenters said “ex officio” in this charter means a jurisdiction-appointed, voting seat rather than a non‑voting observer. Council members also asked about school district participation (for McKinney‑Vento connections) and about how youth defined under the YHDP differ from McKinney‑Vento categories; presenters said HUD’s YHDP award focuses on unaccompanied 18–24-year-olds and that couch‑surfing and other non‑literal homelessness categories are eligible under YHDP guidelines.

Presenters asked for Lakewood’s support in outreach, participation on committees and appointments of a jurisdictional designee. They said the CoC’s governance changes have already improved HUD perceptions and helped secure more funding than prior structures had obtained.

Why it matters: the charter changes and the provisional YHDP award together could change how homelessness services are coordinated in Pierce County and bring significant new, ongoing federal funding for youth services if the community plan is approved and program metrics are met.

Next steps: the CoC will complete a gap analysis and strategic planning for 2024–29, continue outreach to other jurisdictions, and finalize the HUD coordinated plan for the YHDP award. HUD approval is required before the $3.5 million award can be released and used for contracts.

Sources: briefing to Lakewood City Council, March 10, 2025, presentation by Cynthia Stewart (CoC co‑chair), Michael Yoder (CoC co‑chair) and Devon Isaacson (Pierce County Human Services, collaborative applicant).