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Community Action updates Mount Vernon council on resource centers, Kulshan View housing partnership
Summary
Liz Jennings of Community Action of Skagit County briefed the Mount Vernon City Council on services, resource‑center use, street outreach and progress toward a two‑phase, 48‑unit Kulshan View housing project expected to break ground next spring. Council members thanked the agency and noted partnership opportunities.
Liz Jennings, director of community engagement for Community Action of Skagit County, gave the City of Mount Vernon an annual update Oct. 8, describing the agency’s resource centers, street outreach, care coordination and local housing efforts.
“Our vision is a community in which everyone works together to end poverty in Skagit County,” Jennings told the council, outlining the nonprofit’s mix of immediate assistance and longer‑term case coordination. She said Community Action operates four resource centers across the county, including the Mount Vernon Resource Center, and runs street outreach and recovery navigator teams that partner with local police and embedded social workers.
Jennings presented countywide and city‑level figures the agency uses to describe service volume: a countywide total of roughly 59,714 people served in 2024 (a figure Community Action said includes food bank recipients across Skagit County and partner counties); nearly 28,000 Mount Vernon residents in the city ZIP code who were program participants in 2024 (agency data presented as program participants, not only referrals); more than 1,000 people assisted to avoid homelessness; and about 8,900 people accessing food and nutrition services through Community Action programs. She also said roughly $260,000 in rental assistance paid through Community Action flowed to local landlords to keep tenants housed.
Jennings said Community Action is focusing more intensive care coordination on people with the highest needs, describing a shift from broader enrollment to more intensive services for fewer clients. She also updated the council on Kulshan View, a two‑phase housing development with 48 units; Jennings said the project is expected to break ground in spring of next year and thanked the city for financial and permitting support.
Council members thanked Community Action for the presentation. One councilmember noted the organization remains financially sound despite losing a coordinated‑entry contract in 2023, and another urged continued partnership on civic engagement and housing goals.
Jennings asked councilmembers and city staff to “help spread the word” that Community Action resource centers and services are open and available to residents needing immediate assistance or longer‑term support. The presentation was informational; the council did not take formal action on the report.
