Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Council hears housing‑first, tiny‑home and scattered‑shelter models as options for local homelessness response
Summary
City attorneys reviewed examples from Walla Walla, Milwaukee, Olympia and Spokane that use Conestoga huts, permanent supportive housing, tiny‑home villages and scattered shelter pilots as different strategies to reduce unsheltered homelessness and link people to services.
City Attorney Sarah Watkins briefed the council on several community models used elsewhere to provide shelter and housing to people experiencing homelessness, describing program designs and results from Walla Walla, Milwaukee, Olympia and Spokane.
Walla Walla: Watkins described a Conestoga‑hut shelter model sited on city property. The city invested an initial $150,000 to prepare foundations and placed approximately 37 huts on site; in 2021 the facility recorded roughly 16,500 nights of shelter and served 221 distinct individuals, Watkins said. The huts are weatherproof, lockable and used as an entry point into services; Walla Walla later added communal buildings for intake,…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
