Youth Connections secures more than $11 million for 12-unit transitional housing in Shelton

Susan Kurnell, executive partner with Youth Connections, told the Shelton City Council during public comment that the nonprofit has secured layered funding to remodel its downtown facility into a youth-focused transitional housing site.

Kurnell said the project has $4,000,000 from the state Housing Trust Fund and that this week the organization received notification of an additional $2,000,000 routed through Senator Murray’s office. She said those awards are part of a package that brings ‘‘just over $11,000,000’’ of investment to Shelton to create 12 transitional housing units and expanded youth services.

The remodel will add private meeting space, expanded life‑skills and independent‑living classes, and an on-site “coffee connection” run by youth as job training, Kurnell said. She told the council the organization employs 17 local people, served 6,497 youth at the Shelton center in 2025 and 171 at the Belfair center, and reported a roughly 75 percent successful exit-to-housing rate for program participants.

Kurnell described the funding as the product of federal, state, city and county partnerships and thanked the council for earlier approval that helped access the grants. She said the project would provide hands-on job training and support services and that the remodel would allow staff to meet privately with clients and expand programs.

The council did not take action on the item during the meeting; Kurnell’s remarks were taken as public comment. The next steps cited by Kurnell include coordination on construction and program implementation once final contracts and project schedules are set.