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Auburn human services outlines outreach, shelters and housing placements, reports 205 housed in 2024
Summary
The city’s human services director described outreach staffing, shelter and motel placements, a safe-parking program, use of federal CDBG and ARPA funds, and daily HMIS nominations for housing; staff said they housed 205 people in 2024 and conducted 472 contacts.
City of Auburn human services leaders told residents Wednesday they maintain a five-person outreach team, run local shelters and a safe-parking program, and work daily with King County’s homeless services system to nominate applicants for housing.
"We have 2 full time outreach workers that go out, individually by themselves," Human Services Director Kent Hay said, describing staff who carry police radios and mobile hotspots and who cover outreach across Auburn. He said the city also employs a peer specialist for chemical-dependency work and manages federal Community Development Block Grant spending for housing repairs.
Hay summarized local shelter and housing partnerships: the city funds a night shelter and a day shelter for single adults and couples, operates a safe-parking program for cars and vans, and partners with clean-and-sober housing providers. He said the Health Through Housing hotel — a King County-purchased former Claragon Hotel now called Don's Place — provided placements and that the city aims to move shelter residents into housing to open shelter capacity.
Hay described a program he said used ARPA funds for clean-sober housing that covers residents' room costs for up to a year while they attend inpatient treatment. He also said the city runs a community court option for low-level offenses that participants can opt into in lieu of typical prosecution, and a weekly resource center for people in the program.
On outcomes, Hay said outreach staff made 472 contacts and the city housed 205 people in 2024. He cautioned that sheltered totals do not necessarily reduce local homelessness because Auburn receives inflows when neighboring jurisdictions move people or adjust shelter capacity. "These are folks coming from different areas, sometimes out of state, sometimes from the hospital," he said.
Hay emphasized that Auburn participates in King County’s Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) and that staff nominate people daily through that system for available housing slots. He also noted the city enforces a no-camping ordinance and said staff offer services first before taking enforcement action.
The presentation did not produce a council vote; it was framed as an update to residents and a call for continued partnership between city outreach, regional partners and community-based providers.
