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Thurston County panel recommends $375,000-per-year community behavioral health grants to serve about 1,000 people
Summary
The treatment sales tax advisory committee recommended distributing $375,000 per year (2026–27) across projects prioritized for adults experiencing homelessness and several smaller recovery-support programs; 12 applications requested more than $1.9 million, and the board authorized placing the recommendations on the Feb. 3 consent agenda.
Shaylen Sowers, behavioral health fund grant manager for Thurston County, told commissioners the 2026–27 Behavioral Health Community Grants RFP received 12 applications requesting more than $1.9 million per year while the county has $375,000 available annually. The board authorized staff to place the advisory committee recommendations on the Feb. 3 consent agenda so contract development can begin.
The board-authorized funding pool is $375,000 per year, of which $300,000 is drawn from public health millage revenue and $75,000 from treatment sales tax funding. Sowers said each applicant could request up to $300,000 per year and that the review panel assessed proposals on community need, access and engagement, project design, intended outcomes, organizational capacity and cost effectiveness.
The advisory committee prioritized funding for adult treatment projects that serve people experiencing homelessness, recommending Catholic Community Services and Interfaith Works for higher-priority treatment proposals while suggesting partial funding for larger projects so several smaller recovery-support providers could be fully funded. The panel recommended programs including equine-assisted peer support tied to DUI and drug court, family recovery court expansion, middle- and high-school mental health linkages through the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), and restorative justice dialogues through the Dispute Resolution Center.
Sowers said the recommendations would fully distribute the $375,000 budget and are estimated to serve approximately 1,000 people annually; she added that if a project does not perform in year one the advisory committee would revisit funding and could adjust recommendations for board consideration. “We’re asking the board to approve the treatment sales tax advisory committee’s recommendations on the 2026 and 2027 behavioral health community grant awardees so that we can begin contract development,” Sowers said.
Board members who spoke expressed appreciation for the review process and the difficulty of the decisions. Commissioners directed staff to proceed with placing the recommendations on the upcoming business meeting agenda for formal approval and contract work if the board approves at that time.
