May 5, 2022 Update
Pierce County and the Pierce County Community Development Corporation have made roughly $17M available to support the development and preservation of affordable housing for low, very low, and extremely low-income residents. With this historic investment in affordable housing (roughly 4x the normal amount!) we are looking to find eligible applicants to acquire, newly construct and/or rehabilitate affordable rental or homeownership housing. Applications accepted until June 10.
Designing a Unified Regional Approach that will work in Pierce County is a major undertaking. In the next few weeks, the County will release an RFP looking to identify a consultant to lead the community through that process. The Request for Proposal is scheduled to be issued May 20, with submissions due by June 10.
With the growth of the homeless crisis response system and the need to provide culturally appropriate services, many new providers are expanding their services to include programs to serve people experiencing homelessness. To support these organizations – especially those by and for black, indigenous and people of color, the County will soon release a Request for Proposals (RFP) to provide technical support to ensure these agencies have the support they need as they help people reestablish housing. The Request for Proposals should drop in mid-May.
Keep up on the latest Notices of Funding Availability (NOFAs) and Requests for Proposals (RFPs) by signing up for the listserv or visiting www.piercecountywa.gov/HSSB.
A Pilot Transportation Project is scheduled for a June 1 launch. Through a partnership with Pierce Transit and using funding from the American Rescue Plan Act, five hundred people experiencing homelessness will have access to a one-year Pierce Transit bus pass as a part of their Critical Time Intervention, Rapid Rehousing, or Emergency Shelter enrollment. Transportation is often a barrier to medical care, employment, job training, behavioral health services, and staying connected to family and support structures. This pilot will assess if program participants receiving a bus pass will be more successful than a control group in increasing positive exits from homelessness, reducing the duration of homelessness, and increasing income.
Also on the short list of immediate action is the establishment of a shelter to provide temporary housing and wraparound services to transition people into permanent housing. Its location is not yet determined, but it will be in an underserved unincorporated area. The Fife Shelter RFP is on hold and the TRM shelter expansion contract is still in development.