Thurston County staff present draft five-year homeless housing plan, invite public comment and regional review

Thurston County Office of Housing and Homelessness Prevention staff presented a draft five-year local homeless housing plan to the Lacey City Council on Oct. 14, describing required state objectives, recent public engagement and next steps in the adoption process.

Tom Webster, manager of the Office of Housing and Homeless Prevention, told council the plan is a state requirement tied to funding and will cover calendar years 2025 through 2030. “This is a requirement of the state of Washington,” Webster said, adding the draft will be submitted to the Washington Department of Commerce in December after local review.

Webster outlined required plan components: estimates of existing service levels and permanent and emergency housing needs, a catalog of available federal, state and local resources, a prioritization method for capital projects and a public engagement record. He said regional housing and planning projections (citing House Bill 1220 work by planning departments and TRPC) were used to estimate long-term housing need.

Webster summarized the five statewide objectives the draft addresses: promoting an equitable, accountable and transparent homeless crisis response system; strengthening the homeless service provider workforce; preventing episodes of homelessness; prioritizing assistance for people with the greatest barriers to stability and risk of harm; and housing people in stable settings that meet their needs.

Jacqueline (Jackie) Ruska, homeless services program manager, described proposed strategies under each objective, including a public-facing data dashboard, expanded listening sessions and outreach to underrepresented groups, workforce development and possible peer certification for direct-service staff, improved prevention and landlord partnerships, and expanded shelter and housing pathways. She said the plan breaks each strategy into tasks with responsible parties, priorities and deadlines.

Webster reported the plan’s public engagement included two surveys in January (557 general public responses, 94 of whom reported lived experience in the past ten years) and 157 homeless service provider responses, targeted listening sessions including tiny-home villages, and a lived-experience housing steering committee that has advised the process. Webster said the draft was posted Sept. 19 and that the county is “currently in a public comment period.”

Webster told council that the plan will go to the Regional Housing Council in November for review and then to the county Board of Commissioners for final approval; he said the county expects the Department of Commerce submission in December. He also noted a public hearing on Oct. 21 at 3:30 p.m. with the Board of County Commissioners at the Atrium Building.

Council members asked how the county disaggregates demographic and service-area data, how coordinated entry and HMIS data are used, whether the plan addresses staff turnover and workforce pathways, and the state-level context for programs such as Apple Health & Homes and the Medicaid waiver funding for supportive housing. Ruska and Webster responded that coordinated entry, HMIS and the point-in-time count (moving to every two years) are primary data sources, and said the plan adds an explicit new objective on workforce development in response to turnover.

Staff emphasized that the plan sets priorities and strategies but does not itself appropriate capital funding; Webster said capital project prioritization will be described and will tie into the Regional Housing Council and the county’s capital process. No formal council action was taken at the work session; staff invited continued local engagement and said annual reports will monitor the five-year plan’s implementation.