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Tacoma staff review five-year homelessness strategy, cite data limits and regional coordination plans
Summary
City staff presented the 2022 five-year homelessness strategy, stressing alignment with Pierce County and Washington State guidance, limits of current counts and HMIS data, and a proposal for a shared "binding list" to better track people who touch the system. Committee members asked about funding, shelter models and a regional interlocal agreement.
City staff briefed the Community Vitality and Safety Committee on Feb. 12 on Tacoma's five-year homelessness strategy adopted in 2022 and outlined steps to update and implement the plan through 2028.
Caleb Carbone, the city's homeless strategy systems manager, said the strategy was developed to align with Pierce County and Washington State Commerce guidance and to move the regional system toward what staff call "functional 0," meaning new episodes of homelessness are quickly met with shelter or housing. "The single most important metric to assess if the plan is working effectively is whether the number of people experiencing homelessness is shrinking," Carbone said.
Carbone warned that commonly used measures have limits. He said point-in-time counts are seasonal and affected by volunteer availability and weather, and that the most recent HUD-released data available to the city covered January 2025. He described HMIS (the Homeless Management Information System) as useful but constrained to people who touch the formal shelter system. To improve real-time tracking, staff described a proposed universal "binding list" that would compile everyone who has touched the system (shelter, outreach or coordinated entry) but noted it would require consistent cross-jurisdictional use and ongoing investment for accuracy.
On investments and shelter models, Carbone listed city actions to diversify shelter types and support housing transitions. He cited use of private properties for temporary efficiency units and micro-shelter sites (example: 35th and Pacific), and said the city directed a one-tenth of 1% sales tax for affordable housing, of which 20% currently funds housing services. He also described a $3.5 million general fund investment and $4,000,000 in congressional dollars to help expand Tacoma Rescue Mission's downtown campus.
Committee members pressed staff on timing and regional coordination. The committee asked about the Unified Regional Approach (URA) and the three core items being asked of other cities: an interlocal agreement to form a URA, shared use of HMIS/Clarity, and inclement-weather shelter coordination. Carbone said staff expects Uncommon Bridges to present implementation recommendations March 26 and that an interlocal agreement could come later in the year.
Members also asked how data improvements would translate into funding and service decisions. Carbone said more accurate counts and better HMIS/Clarity data will help quantify needs, which strengthens grant applications and resource allocation. He invited community members to contact staff if they want to help coordinate local efforts or refer individuals to outreach teams.
The committee did not take a formal vote on the strategy; members directed staff to continue coordination with county and regional partners and to return with recommendations and any updates after the March Uncommon Bridges presentation.
