Information

Type: Legal Notice

Department: PHSS - Public Health & Social Services

Directors' Update: TBD

Business Meeting: Feb. 14, 2023

Summary:

This resolution releases a request for proposals to operate a permanent night-by-night shelter, or equivalent.  A successful facility must serve not merely as emergency housing, but also as an entrance and propulsion point into the pipeline for housing and supportive services to help clients step up into more permanent housing and improved, more self-sufficient lives.  Providers are asked to submit proposals demonstrating their capacity, experience, and innovation in running a shelter in response to identified community concerns about how the shelter should operate, as well as service provider feedback about how to connect the shelter to existing services.  The proposals will be a springboard into a collaborative program design process in which the applicant, the County, technical consultants, and a citizen advisory committee design an interim and final program for the shelter.  The interim program is meant to be operational sooner, with fewer changes needed to the shelter building; the final program is meant to involve more significant renovations and represent an efficient, effective, community-responsive long-term program.

Publications: The Chronicle, Feb 16; The Seattle Daily Journal, Feb 17; The Portland Daily Journal, Feb 17; The Ellensburg Daily Record, Feb. 18; The Aberdeen Daily World, Feb 17 or thereafter

Cover Letter To:

Additional Copies To: Justia Madrigal, PH&SS

Resolution

WHEREAS, Lewis County, like all communities in Western Washington, has seen an increase in homelessness over the prior decade; and

WHEREAS, to provide emergency housing for those in need, the County previously established a cold weather shelter, which became a temporary night-by-night shelter; and

WHEREAS, as the need grew, the County adopted a Housing Initiative to complement its 5-year plan to prevent homelessness, envisioning a robust housing pipeline in which those in need can find emergency housing and then step up in to more permanent and better housing options, as well as improved lives, on the path to their maximum level of self-sufficiency; and

WHEREAS, a key part of this vision is an efficient, effective, and permanent shelter at a known location—a first rung on the stepladder out of homelessness; and

WHEREAS, such a shelter's operations are a complex, important undertaking that must satisfy a large number of community concerns, mesh successfully into a web of existing supportive services, and be cost-effective and self-sustaining over time; and

WHEREAS, the need for such a shelter is current, so it should start as soon as practicable, but it also must be done well so as to meet community needs over time; and

WHEREAS, Lewis County solicited citizens' input on how such a shelter should operate to match their values via a public forum, and endeavors to incorporate such values into an accountable, community-responsive program; and

WHEREAS, Lewis County solicited service providers' input on how such a shelter should operate to best use their existing supportive services, and endeavors to incorporate such efficiencies into an effective program; and

WHEREAS, Lewis County obtained a Rural Technical Assistance (RTA) grant for expert technical work to realize the goals set forth above, including assistance with program formulation, financial planning, and architectural design; and

WHEREAS, Lewis County now seeks the expertise, experience, creativity, and innovation of a provider, who will join a collaborative process in which the applicant, the County, technical consultants, and a citizen advisory committee design an interim and final program for the shelter responsive to all of these needs.

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Request for Proposals for operations of a Night-by-Night Shelter or equivalent, inviting applicants to engage in collaborative program design with the County, technical consultants, and a citizen advisory committee, shall issue.  The Clerk of the Board shall take all necessary and advisable steps to disseminate and publish the information.

DONE IN OPEN SESSION this 14th day of February, 2023.