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Tacoma lays out 2027–28 priorities for homelessness prevention, sheltering and BRAVE youth-violence strategy
Summary
Neighborhood and Community Services presented its issue statement to guide competitive funding for 2027–28, proposing priorities across homelessness response, housing services, sheltering and BRAVE violence-prevention work; staff said several long-standing contracts (including Beacon youth shelter) will continue without competition and that the RFP cycle will be released in May with contracts executed for service start on Jan. 1, 2027.
City staff briefed the Community Vitality and Safety Committee on a draft Neighborhood & Community Services issue statement that will guide the 2027–28 competitive funding process and described a mix of competing and noncompeting contracts to support shelter, housing and community-wellness services.
"Homelessness refers to a state of individuals, families lacking a stable, safe, and adequate place to live," Caleb Carbone, the city’s homeless strategy and services manager, told the committee, outlining priorities for shelter, housing interventions, outreach/navigation and culturally competent approaches to reduce racial disparities.
Staff said most shelter and homelessness-support programs will be included in the upcoming 2027–28 competitive process; however, several services will continue without competition because of interlocal agreements or sole-source circumstances, including the Beacon Young Adult Shelter and some emergency shelter programs funded through Commerce or existing interlocal agreements. Daniela Papp and Matthew Jorgensen described the competitive shift as the first time many shelter programs will go to RFP since 2017.
Staff also told the committee they will coordinate more closely with regional partners through the Unified Regional Approach (URA) to plan shelter access and inclement-weather response and to make Tacoma more competitive for state and federal funding.
On BRAVE (Building Resilience Against Youth Violence and Exploitation), Sarah Richardson and Erin Watlington presented 2025 performance highlights and demographics: staff reported $2.9 million invested across prevention and intervention for 2025–26, that 83 percent of BRAVE program participants were under 18 in 2025, and that some outcome targets were not met for two measures due in part to late program starts and data-collection limitations. Staff said they will reconvene advisory bodies and pursue a needs assessment and targeted strategy development for a council-ready BRAVE strategy ahead of the 2029–30 RFP cycle.
Council members asked for more detailed program-level outputs and outcomes, the rationale for which programs will not compete, fiscal-impact estimates for different procurement approaches, and clarity about how housing-first approaches are counted in the city’s funding portfolio. Staff said the RFP release timeline is May with rater evaluations in the summer and recommendations to council in late September so contracts can be executed to begin Jan. 1, 2027; staff also committed to providing baseline budgets and historical outputs on request.
No funding decisions were made at the March 12 committee meeting; staff will proceed with public outreach, one-on-one council briefings, and a competitive process consistent with council direction and budget outcomes.
