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Redmond details 'Get People Housed' strategy; staff flags regional funding limits and housing‑unit gaps
Summary
Human services staff briefed the committee on the city's 'Get People Housed' strategy, reviewing regional Continuum of Care funding, recent point‑in‑time counts (about 17,000 in King County), local programs (housing connector, direct referral partnerships, hotel vouchers) and state planning targets requiring Redmond to plan for roughly 3,700 permanent supportive units and 3,800 emergency housing units.
Redmond human services staff presented the third of four briefings on the city’s Get People Housed strategy at the March 17 committee meeting, outlining regional funding constraints, local programs and the scale of the housing gap.
“Redmond contributes to the solution, but no single city can solve homelessness alone,” Brooke Buckingham said, summarizing a regional context shaped by federal and state policy and by King County’s Continuum of Care. Buckingham cited the most recent point‑in‑time count figures presented to the committee: “the last point in time count was done in 2000 and, '24. And in that count, there were, 17,000 people in King County who were identified as homeless,” and she noted the city expects updated local numbers in June.
Buckingham told the committee East King County’s recent totals included approximately 796 people in shelters and a little over 1,000 people sleeping outside; staff said safe‑parking programs are considered unsheltered in the count. She described local supply and demand pressures: under current state planning requirements, Redmond must plan for about 3,700 units of permanent supportive housing and roughly 3,800 units of emergency housing, and staff showed charts illustrating the large gap between needs and available units.
Staff reviewed existing local programs and partnerships that support rapid placements: a housing connector program for regular apartments where participating landlords relax screening criteria in exchange for a year of case management and rental assistance; direct referral partnerships with permanent supportive housing providers that allow a larger share of local referrals; a hotel‑voucher program for short‑term sheltering; and investments in capital projects such as Plymouth, Prisma and Sophia’s Place. Buckingham said approximately 25% of the city’s human‑services funding in 2025 went to homeless housing programs and shelter.
Council members praised staff and emphasized the need for sustained investment and regional coordination. Staff said a refresh of the housing and human‑services strategic plan will return to council later this year.
