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Olympia council OKs funding for Family Support Center's supportive housing project

Olympian - 7/14/2022

Jul. 14—The Family Support Center of South Sound is on its way toward breaking ground on permanent supportive housing in hopes of helping chronically homeless families in Olympia.

Seen as phase 2 of Unity Commons, the county's newest shelter with 58 beds and 65 permanent supportive housing units off Martin Way, the upcoming FSC project will add 64 more units for families as well as victims of domestic violence. The Olympia City Council voted Tuesday, July 12 to approve three resolutions granting $2.5 million in total from the city's Home Fund to the Family Support Center of South Sound for the project.

This money, combined with another $2.5 million in grants through the Department of Commerce'sConnecting Housing to Infrastructure Program, brings the total to $5 million and means the center is set to finalize building plans July 14. Housing programs manager Darian Lightfoot said they will break ground next month and they expect the building will be fully occupied by December 2023.

Money from the Home Fund came as three separate resolutions to the council on July 12, the first being $1 million in 2020, the second $400,000 in 2021 and lastly, $1.1 million in 2022. Lightfoot said this is because the requests for funding were completed in those years and approved by the Home Fund Advisory Board, but the COVID-19 pandemic created a hefty budget deficit that couldn't be addressed until now.

"Permanent supportive projects like this often take multi years to fund because they are expensive and need deep investment from the local, state and federal level to be made whole," Lightfoot said.

Lightfoot said the new building will support 90 to 100 people in total, with a focus on families and children.

The I-5 corridor

Lightfoot said there's a lot of funding coming into Thurston County for housing projects over the next couple years as the state partners with local jurisdictions to clear encampments along I-5 rights-of-way. The City Council also approved a Memorandum of Understanding and an Interlocal Agreement on July 12 to secure funding for that initiative.

There are five encampments that have been recognized in Thurston County that fit this description and are set to be cleared.

Earlier this year the county Regional Housing Council met with state departments, the State Patrol and other stakeholders to come up with a plan to get the 80 to 100 people living in the right-of-ways into housing.

The Memorandum of Understanding between the state departments and the cities in Thurston County outlines the commitment that those living in the encampments aren't offered housing one time, Lightfoot said.

"It isn't a lost system, it's a tight system with a close partnership with outreach providers, the outreach team in the city and with a larger technical team that's in communication almost every day to ensure people are transitioned into supportive housing," Lightfoot said.

Lightfoot said she hasn't seen many people turn down housing when it's been offered. But sometimes there are items people don't want to give up but can't take with them, or they're most comfortable in the space they've acquired.

"It just takes a little more conversation," she said. "Not convincing, but more support and information to show that this is a transition to a space that is safe and healthy,"

The agreement says the state will provide funding through the end of 2025 for outreach, prioritization of existing shelter beds, hotel stay expansion, site improvements and construction of new tiny homes. Lightfoot said Thurston County is the first county to have encampments along I-5 addressed, which means they have the space to use money as needed as they learn along the way.

The Interlocal Agreement between the city and the Washington Department of Transportation includes paying the city $340,000 to fund current staff members doing outreach work and to ensure the encampments don't become inhabited again. This includes keeping the I-5 corridor clean, making repairs and installing no trespassing signs.

If someone were to come back to live on the site, Lightfoot said outreach services would be deployed and they'd hopefully be connected to housing. This funding covers two outreach workers until the end of 2025.

CDBG funds for 2022

The City Council also approved the action plan for the 2022 Community Development Block Grant funds, which are funds from the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development. These funds go toward housing and public services for low- and moderate-income people in Olympia.

The city is allocating $368,187 toward several initiatives. Olympia Community Solar is getting $63,813 for seven low-income homes to receive solar panels, and Habitat for Humanity is getting $50,000 to fund employees who do rehab work on low-income homes.

Community Youth Services is receiving $120,000 for an elevator installation in its Behavioral Health Youth facility, and Rebuilding Together Thurston County is getting $25,000 for low-income home repairs.

The City of Olympia has allocated $35,000 to its Downtown Ambassadors program, as well as $74,374 for CDBG program administration.

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