The Lewis County Board of County Commissioners on Dec. 23 adopted a five-year homelessness and housing-services plan for 2025–2030, voting 2-0 after a staff presentation and with no public testimony.

Eric Eisenberg, who presented the staff report, said the plan incorporates the state's required objectives while placing a stronger emphasis on prevention, coordination with jurisdictions' comprehensive plans and workforce development for service providers. "The milestones that are listed are realistic and achievable," Eisenberg said during his presentation.

The plan, he said, includes background on Lewis County's housing and demographics, a catalog of potential funding sources, estimated service-level tools, and newly required capital project priority criteria intended to guide how the county spends capital funds that pass through it.

Mija Hanlon, director of Lewis County Public Health and Social Services, praised the outreach to people experiencing homelessness and said staff recognize heavy implementation lifts for public-health and noncontracted providers. "I am impressed by the outreach done with persons experiencing homelessness," Hanlon said, adding that the department will need to strengthen partnerships with mental-health and substance-use providers and law enforcement to make the plan actionable.

Eisenberg told the board the county had an extension to Feb. 15, 2026, if commissioners wanted further public testimony or revisions; he outlined options to adopt now, recess for additional public testimony in January, or close the hearing and direct a revised draft to return for a decision in January. The board adopted the plan during the Dec. 23 meeting, with the motion passing 2-0.

The plan replaces the county's previous five-year document and is presented as a living document that may be amended if community needs or new funding sources arise. The county posted notice of the hearing and disseminated materials to service organizations; presenters said outreach included consultations with the City of Centralia and service providers.

Next steps: the board adopted the plan and staff will finalize the posted draft consistent with the board's direction; implementation will require coordination among county departments, cities and community providers.