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HomeMy WebLinkAbout5 Year Plan Review Draft 10.22.25  2025-2030 Jefferson County Homeless & Affordable Housing Services PlanJefferson County Housing Task Force of the Joint City of Port Townsend/Jefferson County Housing Fund Board 10-20-2025  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The Joint City of Port Townsend/Jefferson County Housing Fund Board acknowledges the following individuals and groups for your support in the development of the Homeless and Affordable Housing Services Plan. Thank you to the Housing Task Force members: … Thank you to all those who participated by offering their expertise and insight on the plan: … Thank you to the various community groups and service provider organizations who offered input on the plan: … INTRODUCTION The 2025-2030 Jefferson County Homeless and Affordable Housing Services Plan addresses the need for concerted action to reduce homelessness and housing instability in Jefferson County. While considerable progress has been made in expanding and strengthening the Homeless Response System (HRS) over the past five years, housing stability for many low-income households in Jefferson County remains painfully out of reach. The 2025-2030 Homeless and Affordable Housing Services Plan presents strategies and actions for laying a strong foundation to secure long-term success in significantly reducing homelessness and housing insecurity leading to homelessness. The plan is focused on 5 objectives: Strengthening the homeless service provider workforce. Promoting an equitable, accountable and transparent homeless crisis response system. Prioritizing assistance based on the greatest barriers to housing stability and the greatest risk of harm. Preventing episodes of homelessness whenever possible. Seeking to house everyone in a stable setting that meets their needs. In developing this plan, the Housing Task Force sought to identify needs-driven, resource-conscious, and actionable strategies for creating pathways to permanent housing by involving a wide cross-section of HRS stakeholders. Appendix A, Documentation of Public Engagement, provides a record of public engagement that supported the plan’s development. The Housing Task Force convened by the Joint City of Port Townsend/ Jefferson County Housing Fund Board for the purpose of creating this plan is comprised of 17 HRS and Affordable Housing stakeholders, including two lived experts. The Housing Fund Board’s responsibilities include overseeing the plan’s development and implementation for the city and county. EXTENT, IMPACTS AND CAUSES OF HOMELESSNESS AND AFFORDABLE HOUSING CRISES IN JEFFERSON COUNTY Ending homelessness is a highly complex challenge. Because the individual, social, and economic drivers of homelessness all feed each other, a holistic, multi-pronged approach is required to create sustainable outcomes. There is no single cause or simple fix, and the needs of each person experiencing homelessness are often unique. The twin crises of homelessness and affordable housing hugely impact Jefferson County. To put it simply, homelessness and housing insecurity generate trauma with consequences for the entire community. The social and economic costs include: Increasing risk of interpersonal violence and traumatization Social isolation and loss of community connection Worsening mental and physical health and higher risk of untimely death Loss of essential workforce and lowered employment opportunities High rates of disconnected youth Increased rates and perpetuating cycles of incarceration We can reduce these social and economic costs by building a strong support system for people experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness that includes preventing homelessness whenever possible and providing housing in a stable setting that meets people’s needs. The analysis below describes the current state of homelessness and housing insecurity in Jefferson County based on both quantitative and qualitative data gathered by the Housing Fund Board. To design effective programs and policies, we need to understand who is experiencing it, how they became homeless, what their experiences are, and what is preventing them from exiting homelessness. To this end, the Housing Fund Board conducted a series of conversational meetings focused on the needs of different populations experiencing homelessness and housing instability that included both service providers and people with lived experience. Appendix B, the 2024-2025 Qualitative Housing Needs Assessment Findings, provides a summation of this research. WHO EXPERIENCES HOMELESSNESS? In Jefferson County, the average number of persons experiencing homelessness at some point during a six-month period has remained fairly stable since 2018 at just over 500 persons according to the Department of Commerce’s Snapshot Reports of Homelessness., This equates to around 15 persons per 1000 population, below the state average of 17 persons per 1000 population. The annual PIT Count numbers measure the number of homeless from a different standpoint – how many are homeless on a given night at the end of January. Of particular focus in the PIT Count are the people who live and sleep in places not ordinarily used as a living abode, such as in a car, park, bus or train station, or campground. These are referred to as unsheltered individuals and they tend to be the most visible part of the homeless population to the general public. On the other hand, key demographics, such as women, youth and families with children, tend to be undercounted as they often hide their homelessness for personal safety reasons. In Jefferson, the annual PIT Count numbers reflected a downward shift in the number of unsheltered from 112 in 2022 and 79 in 2024 to 66 in 2025, possibly reflecting an increase in available Emergency and Transitional Housing beds. In Jefferson, there are also a significant number of underhoused individuals, persons whose homes are officially inadequate, for example, with no running water or electricity. There is no good way to count underhoused individuals (who are technically homeless) as many of them do not consider themselves homeless or seek HRS or other services. Many of the underhoused are prime working-age adults in the age range of 25 to 54. They often serve essential functions in our workforce and take pride in their resourcefulness. However, in recent years, their situation has become more precarious as they are being priced out of even unpermitted dwellings, putting huge pressure on them to find ways to meet essential basic needs including safety. When discussing the number of people experiencing homelessness, it's also of great importance to recognize that systemic inequalities cause housing instability, meaning different demographics are not equally affected. Homelessness and housing insecurity disproportionately impact historically marginalized communities due to past and ongoing discrimination, economic inequality, and systemic bias. These include Black, Indigenous and other communities of color (BIPOC), immigrants, LBGTQ+ individuals, people with disabilities, and youth and younger adults. Locally, the overrepresentation of Black and Native American populations experiencing homelessness underscores these disparities. Indigenous people are disproportionately represented in Jefferson County’s homeless population at over three times their percentage in the general population and Black individuals at one-and-a-half times.  Youth and young adults, ages 13–25, are at far greater risk of being launched directly into homelessness as soon as they leave school, foster care, or unstable family situations. Without the stability of a permanent home or a reliable support system, young adults 18–25 face barriers that compound quickly: disrupted education, inability to enter the workforce, unsafe living conditions, and exposure to exploitation. An even more fragile group are unaccompanied minors, some as young as 13, navigating homelessness without the presence or protection of a parent or guardian. These youth are at the highest risk of exploitation, trafficking, abuse, and long-term destabilization.Violence, particularly intimate partner violence, often leads directly to homelessness for survivors by forcing them to flee unsafe situations, while also creating economic and systemic barriers like job loss and housing discrimination that prevent them from securing stable housing. Conversely, the destabilization and lack of support inherent in homelessness can increase a person's vulnerability to new or ongoing violence and trauma, creating a destructive cycle.  WHO IS AT RISK OF HOMELESSNESS? The number of people at risk of displacement or homelessness are many times greater than the number of unhoused. Housing displacement refers to the involuntary relocation of residents from their homes or neighborhoods for economic, physical, or cultural reasons. It is distinct from voluntary moves and is often associated with increasing rents as is the case in Jefferson County. In Jefferson County, it is low-income renters who are being driven out of our community, as seen in the figure below.  Between 2016 and 2013 the Jefferson County population of renters with incomes less than $50,000 decreased by 1,116 people, a shrinkage of 32%. / Owning your home greatly depends on your access to resources, and access to resources depends on previous generations of housing policy that favored homeownership over renting as a means of building wealth. Unequal access to housing resources intersects with race.  People of the Global Majority (PGM) are disproportionately low-income renters.  In Jefferson, only 10% of Black households own their homes. The incidence of cost-burden among renter households tells a similar story. Cost burden is when a household spends more than 30% of its income on housing costs, including rent, mortgage, utilities, and other fees. This burden leaves less money for other necessities and makes households more vulnerable to financial instability. While homeownership is often considered to be the gold standard of housing security, homeownership is not guaranteed to be the most secure option. In Jefferson, there are approximately 4 times as many owner households as rental households below 100% AMI. That ratio has grown with renters being forced out of the county. Both renter and owner households in the 50 to 100% AMI range have seen significant increases in cost burden over the last six years and Jefferson County is increasing in share of owner cost-burdened households while share is decreasing at the state and national levels. In Jefferson, the data shows that older adults (over 65), BIPOC/PGM, and families with minor children see higher rates of housing cost burden than other adults, whites, and families without children respectively. In developing housing strategies to prevent homelessness, it is important to consider both the incidence of cost burden and the number of households with these problems within each income-tenure category, and whether the incidence is rising among certain income groups. In Jefferson, rental households below 80% AMI have the highest shares of housing cost burden. From 2016 to 2023, the number of cost-burden renter households with incomes below 50% AMI decreased due to significant displacement (see above), while the cost burden for those in the 50-80% AMI bracket rose sharply from 35% to 75%. These numbers inform the estimated housing needs the City and County are required to plan for in their Comprehensive Plans. WHAT ARE THE CAUSES OF HOMELESSNESS AND HOUSING INSECURITY? Homelessness in Jefferson County reflects structural conditions that are endemic to U.S. housing markets as a whole. Here, as elsewhere, the lack of affordable rental housing is a primary structural driver of homelessness and displacement. This lack of rental housing drives rent increases. Due to the same market pressures, homeownership is also increasingly out of reach for most all low-income households and for many moderate-income households. With fewer affordable homeownership options, downrenting (when moderate- and higher- income households occupy lower cost rental units) appears prevalent in Jefferson County. Meanwhile, the number of available rentals is shrinking as rentals are converted to homeownership opportunities and mainly sold to people coming from outside the county.   Between 2012 and 2022 Jefferson County lost 748 rental units.  A strained housing market puts a growing financial burden on renters and homeowners alike, leading to increased risk of displacement and homelessness. Similarly, economic insecurity heightens people’s risk of homelessness. A sudden job loss or other financial emergency can trigger homelessness. As the overall cost of living climbs and people lose public-supported benefits such as Medicaid, we foresee a rise in homelessness. The availability of and access to care and support, such as assistance with financial hardship, employment support, and health and behavioral health care guards against damaging circumstances, where a lack of adequate access to care and support creates disproportionate vulnerability. Meeting the intersecting needs of vulnerable populations such as youth, older adults, families with children, and people living with mental illness or substance use disorders, requires a depth of resources and coordinated service provision across different service delivery systems. WHAT LOCAL FACTORS CONTRIBUTE TO HOMELESSNESS AND HOUSING INSECURITY? Jefferson County is one of the most expensive and least affordable counties in Washington, especially when comparing its median home prices to local wages. In 2023, Jefferson County dropped to 38th out of the 39 counties in Washington for affordability for both first time home buyers and homebuyers in general, followed only by San Juan County. The increasing gap between wages and housing costs means that an ever-growing percentage of the people who live here cannot afford to buy a home. In turn, this makes competition for affordably priced rentals fierce. Many in the local Homeless Response System (HRS) workforce live in surrounding counties where rents are cheaper. Long commutes on two lane highways to their jobs adds to the stress of their work and the lack of affordable housing makes it difficult to recruit and retain workers. Another local factor that shapes housing outcomes is that a high percentage of the more affordable rentals are owned by small “mom and pop” private landlords. Studies show that these small landlords are less likely to evict tenants, contributing to increased housing stability and preventing displacement. At the same time, mom-and-pop landlords can face significant financial challenges, leading them to increase rents, defer maintenance, or sell their properties for home ownership. On the demand side, Jefferson County is getting older. Of counties in Washington State, Jefferson has the highest share of the population age 65 and older with 26.3% in 2010 and 41.6% in 2022. Moreover, Jefferson’s share of over 65 households is more than twice that of Washington as a whole. This matters as the second largest predictor of homelessness in Washington counties is the percentage of the population 65 and over, after median rent for one-bedroom apartments. It is reflected in our homeless population where a disproportionate and growing share are older adults. Finally, Jefferson County is a small rural county with a population of less than 35,000 (smaller than that of most of Washington’s cities). By state law, local governments must develop policies to prevent homelessness and displacement but, at the same time, the city’s and county’s resources to develop a response to the homelessness and affordable housing crises have been limited. In practice, the city and county have relied on their partners, the housing service providers (HSPs), to develop solutions and allocate resources. Over the last five years, this has begun to shift in response to changes coming from above and below. From above, there are new Growth Management Act requirements for housing development and new guidance from the Department of Commerce on HRS management. From below, the need for coordination has grown as our local HRS response has evolved to include more HSPs and other service agencies providing services to the homeless and housing insecure, especially in the health, education and community sectors. JEFFERSON COUNTY’S HOMELESS CRISIS RESPONSE The figure below shows Jefferson County’s HRS and Affordable Housing ecosystem in relation to the housing continuum. The housing continuum is comprised of services that provide varying levels of support to individuals based on their housing stability and needs, ranging from homelessness prevention to permanent housing. A wide diversity of service and functional model types offer a comprehensive and adaptable approach to the complex needs of different populations. Each and every homeless and affordable housing provider in the system performs vital services in opening pathways to housing security. / By service type the Jefferson Homeless Response HRS and Affordable Housing ecosystem is supported by the following service providers: Homelessness Services focus on providing access to basic needs like food, hygiene facilities, health check-ups and transportation. Providers include: Bayside Housing and Services (Bayside), Reach Out! and the Winter Welcoming Center. They are closely supported by Discovery Behavorial Health and the Jefferson County Public Health Department’s Harm Reduction Unit. Emergency Housing is intended to provide immediate, very short-term shelter during a crisis. Providers include: Bayside, Dove House, and the Olympic Community Action Programs (OlyCAP). Transitional Housing offers temporary, stable housing (usually up to 24 months) and services to help people address challenges and prepare for permanent housing. Providers include: Bayside, Dove House, OlyCAP and OWL360. Permanent Supportive Housing combines long-term, time-unlimited housing with ongoing support services for individuals with disabilities or chronic conditions who need consistent assistance to maintain stable housing. Providers include: Bayside and OlyCAP. Community Housing is housing provided to low- and moderate-income households at below-market rates often through subsidies. Community housing models, run by either local non-profits or community organizations, offer both rental and ownership options. Some programs require income verification, while others do not. Providers include: Bayside, Community Build, Habitat of East Jefferson County (Habitat EJC), Hugging Tree, OlyCAP, Olympic Housing Trust, Peninsula Housing Authority (PHA) and ROC Northwest. Below-Market Rental/Ownership assistance programs, such as the Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Rehousing programs and Section 8 vouchers, help low- and moderate-income households secure stable housing in the private market by reducing their monthly housing costs through vouchers or direct cash payments. Providers include: OlyCAP, Opportunity Council (Jefferson), and PHA. In addition, the Housing Fund Board and the Continuum of Care (CoC) have responsibility for overseeing, coordinating and supporting the Homeless Response System. A CoC is a regional group responsible for planning, coordinating and funding homeless assistance services within its geographic area. Additional responsibilities include administering the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) and the Coordinated Entry Advisory Board (CEAB). In Jefferson County, the CoC lead has historically been OlyCAP. In the past five years, the Housing Fund Board and its predecessor, the Affordable and Homeless Housing Task Force, have assumed many of the coordination, planning and plan implementation responsibilities. Lived Experts – people with current or past experience in homelessness and housing insecurity – are essential partners in the effort to end homelessness. Their unique insights help to design, implement, and evaluate more effective and equitable programs. Lastly, service providers from other sectors, government agencies and boards, and by-and-for and community organizations form a service network that is essential to addressing the multiple factors contributing to housing instability. (See Appendix A for a list of service network organizations participating in the 2024-2025 Qualitative Needs Assessment.) From 2019 to 2024, huge gains were made to expand and strengthen the HRS at the system level. Individual HSPs also have been successful in expanding their offerings and strengthening their programs. Significant achievements over the last five years include: Increasing the number of emergency and transitional beds by 59% to 184 beds and the number of permanent supportive housing units by 43% to 65 units. The authorization of the 1/10th of 1% Sales Tax for Affordable Housing in 2020 provided a much-needed locally-controlled funding source for capital development projects. The Winter Welcoming Center, OWL360’s The Nest and Dove House’s Recovery Café created spaces for people experiencing homelessness or are at risk of homelessness to engage with others in a safe environment. The county secured funds for the purchase of the Caswell-Brown property and leased the property to OlyCAP for the development of a new emergency housing facility with services for up to 100 clients. Phase 3 of Caswell-Brown is scheduled to be completed in June 2026. The City of Port Townsend developed a model ordinance for the permitting of Emergency Housing Facilities. Community Build engaged hundreds of volunteers in building over 40 tiny shelters for tiny shelter villages operated by Bayside and OlyCAP. Bayside secured a $6.5 million grant from the Washington Housing Authority to build a permanent supportive and affordable mid-rise apartment building. OWL360 was founded in 2021 to provide the young people of Jefferson County opportunities for sustainable independence through a holistic targeted approach to serving young people, including affordable housing and support services, community connections, and programs. Habitat EJC implemented their pioneering permanently affordable housing model and will break ground on their Mason Street Neighborhood development of 136 permanently affordable homes for households in the 50-150% AMI income range in 2026. The Coordinated Entry Advisory Board (CEAB) and the Shelter Coalition were formed to advance coordinated service delivery. The CEAB helps people experiencing or at risk of homelessness access housing, shelter, and supportive services. The Shelter Coalition is providing operational focus for service delivery to unsheltered and emergency housing clients by bringing together service providers from across service sectors. The box below highlights the collective strengths of the HRS ecosystem. identified in the Qualitative Housing Needs Assessment (see Appendix B). Identified Strengths of HRS EcoSystem Diverse Housing Programs: Multiple organizations provide emergency, transitional, and permanent housing options, such as OlyCAP, Bayside Housing, Dove House, OWL 360, Peninsula Housing Authority and Habitat of East Jefferson County. Targeted Services Aligned to Needs: Programs tailored to specific populations, such as youth (OWL 360), domestic violence survivors (Dove House), and individuals with substance use disorders (HARPS program) have been successful in serving their clients. Expansion of Innovative Housing Models: Tiny shelter villages and global leases increase affordable housing supply without requiring expensive and lengthy new construction. Community-Based Initiatives: Organizations like Housing Solutions Network, Community Build, and REPAH (Real Estate Professionals for Affordable Housing) focus on engaging the community in responding to the housing crisis. Cross-Sector Partnerships: Collaboration between housing service providers, social service organizations, local government agencies and community-based organizations address intersecting needs. Advocacy and Equity Efforts: By-and-for organizations like JCIRA and BLMJC provide advocacy and support tailored to marginalized communities, including immigrants and BIPOC populations. Data and Needs Assessment: The Qualitative Housing Needs Assessment project and quantitative data analysis provide lived experience and service provider insights to inform policy and program design. The most immediate challenge facing Jefferson County HRS and AH providers is the need to build and maintain service capacity at a time when funds are being cut. Overcoming this challenge requires both a focus on operational improvements and investment in longer-term solutions. This approach is reflected in our strategies and actions for building a solid foundation for building long-term success. DEVELOPMENT OF THIS PLAN Washington state law requires that local governments adopt a five-year local homeless housing plan ("local plan") for their jurisdictional area. The local plan must include objectives, strategies, actions, milestones or performance measures and timelines to reduce homelessness within the county. The local plan must also be consistent with guidance issued by the Department of Commerce (Commerce). To align local plans with the state’s plan and across jurisdictions, the guidance specifies five objectives each plan must address: Strengthening the homeless service provider workforce. Promoting an equitable, accountable and transparent homeless crisis response system. Prioritizing assistance based on the greatest barriers to housing stability and the greatest risk of harm. Preventing episodes of homelessness whenever possible. Seeking to house everyone in a stable setting that meets their needs. The Housing Fund Board decided to include affordable housing within the scope of this plan because the plan addresses housing insecurity and because affordable housing is the last step in the continuum of housing needs. The process goals for local planning were three-fold. The plan should be: Needs-driven, that is, the plan should identify and address the specific needs of those experiencing homelessness and housing insecurity as identified in Jefferson’s data and qualitative needs analyses. This approach ensures that efforts and resources are focused on the areas where they will have the most significant impact. Resource-conscious, that is, strategies and actions should be supported by the people, budget, time and capabilities needed to complete the plan’s goals successfully. Actionable, that is, the strategies for achieving desired outcomes should be based on concrete actions defined by clear deliverables and measures of success that facilitate accountability and progress monitoring, The Housing Task Force’s planning framework is depicted in the diagram below. The Task Force’s strategies and actions development process was both top-down and bottom-up. Top-down planning starts with high-level strategic goals set by leadership (in this plan, Commerce), while bottom-up planning begins with an assessment of capabilities (that is, strengths and resources). In addition, we recognize that planning is fractal, that is, the execution of high-level plans often requires the development of action plans. Jefferson County 2025-2030 Planning Framework / For each objective, a team prepared a presentation to open discussion of the following questions: What are the major needs, barriers and gaps to address under this objective? What existing strengths (capabilities/resources) can we build on to address this objective? What additional capabilities/resources do we need? What are potential strategies and actions to address this objective? The Task Force members were then asked to prioritize strategies and supporting actions. From this input, the strategies and actions were drafted and cross-referenced to the needs identified in the Qualitative Housing Needs Assessment (see Appendix G). Lived experts and service providers not participating on the Task Force were invited to give feedback on the draft at two Listening Sessions, one for lived experts and one for service providers from all sectors. The Housing Task Force in a final meeting then reviewed the draft plan in its entirety, whereon the draft plan was passed to the Housing Fund Board for recommendation to the City and County. As part of the final Task Force review, a timeline chart of actions was constructed (see Appendix H). As the final step in adopting the plan, the City of Port Townsend (the only incorporated city in Jefferson County) held public hearings on November 10th and December1st andJefferson County held hearings on … and ..., after which the plan was submitted to Commerce. OBJECTIVES, STRATEGIES AND ACTIONS The objectives, strategies, actions and measures of success or performance below lay out a strategic, multi-faceted approach to helping individuals and families move from unstable or temporary living situations to safe, permanent, and affordable homes. This approach is referred to in the plan as building pathways to housing security. The particular focus for this coming 5-year period was to lay a solid foundation for strengthening and expanding the HRS to successfully meet the housing needs of people experiencing homelessness and housing insecurity. Objective 1: Strengthen the Homeless Service Provider Workforce A compassionate approach to reducing homelessness and housing insecurity begins with ensuring the well-being of the frontline workers who directly provide homeless services and housing assistance. Housing service provider (HSP) workers regularly encounter trauma and grief when working with unhoused people and people at risk of becoming homeless. Fostering a workplace culture that respects HSP staff as the highly qualified professionals they are and that provides them with the necessary resources and support to do their jobs is essential to strengthening the HSP workforce. Strategies and actions to support this objective are: Strategy: Create a peer support network for HSP staff to foster connections and share information on their work, the services they provide, resources, and skills. Action 1.A.1: Form a Peer Network Committee to organize regular HSP network events where providers from different HSP agencies can develop supportive peer relationships. Events shall be designed based on input from participants on frequency, format, content and structure. Measures of Success: Form committee; High participation in events Timeline/Milestone: June 2026 network event: ongoing Lead/Responsible Party: Housing Fund Board’s Peer Network Committee Action 1.A.2: Foster a Homeless Response System (HRS) community of practice based on shared values and agreements using feedback circles to create a safe and supportive environment for members to learn from each other, share insights and resources, and collectively improve their practices and contributions, particularly with the intent to address unsupportive work culture issues such as racialized dynamics, burnout and a lack of career mobility. Measures of Success: Self-reported increased ability to access and share resources and solutions Timeline/Milestone: 2028-2030 Lead/Responsible Party: Housing Fund Board’s Peer Network Committee Strategy: Engage cross-system collaboration on training standards development and training provision. Action 1.B.1: Generate, publish and maintain a list of training opportunities covering core competency trainings including trainings on trauma-responsive, anti-racism and client-centered service delivery. Measures of Success: List of training opportunities distributed Timeline/Milestone: May 2026; ongoing Lead/Responsible Party: Housing Fund Board’s Peer Network Committee Action 1.B.2: Identify opportunities to collaborate on offering training services with the intent of offering expanded training opportunities and maximizing existing agency investment in training. Measures of Success: Shared training offerings announcement; Increase in percentage of staff receiving trainings Timeline/Milestone: May 2026; ongoing Lead/Responsible Party: Housing Fund Board’s Peer Network Committee Action 1.B.3: Coordinate and leverage Consolidated Homeless Grant (CHG) and other funding for shared training services, including identifying and funding locally developed trainings and “train the trainer” opportunities. Measures of Success: Schedule for shared training offerings completed; Increase in leveraged training investment Timeline/Milestone: August 2026; annually ongoing Lead/Responsible Party: Continuum of Care (CoC) Strategy: Incentivize HSP staff worker retention and career mobility practices. Action 1.C.1: Support HSPs in implementing best practices to improve worker satisfaction and retention such as retention bonuses, housing support for housing-insecure HSP workers, work-life balance, and increased compensation through resource development. In particular, identify practices supporting workers with lived experience who may lack the education requirements that pose barriers to promotions and wage increases. Measures of Success: Report on best practice resources; Increase in worker satisfaction Timeline/Milestone: January 2027 Lead/Responsible Party: Ad hoc workgroup of HSPs in collaboration with HFB Action 1.C.2: Research funding opportunities to provide support for implementation of worker retention and career mobility practices and pursue and award secured funds to HSPs. Measures of Success: RFP for strengthening HSP workforce issued Timeline/Milestone: March 2027 Lead/Responsible Party: County and City Grant Writers in collaboration with HFB Objective 2: Promote an equitable, accountable and transparent homeless crisis response system Strategies and actions that support the development of an equitable, accountable and transparent HRS are important because they ensure fair and effective resource allocation, address systemic disparities faced by underserved communities, and improve outcomes by using data to guide decision-making and track progress. Tracking and reporting our results helps us determine if our homelessness efforts are working effectively, make improvements, and demonstrate accountability to stakeholders.  When communities see that the system is working to address their needs and correct injustices, it builds trust and encourages greater participation from people with lived experience in designing and implementing solutions. Strategies and actions to support this objective are: Strategy: Strengthen Housing Fund Board (HFB) and Continuum of Care (CoC) in overseeing, coordinating and supporting the Homeless Response System. Action 2.A.1: Research and evaluate different CoC and Housing Fund Board models for meeting Jefferson County’s COC responsibilities. Measure of Success: Evaluation Report completed Timeline/Milestone: May 2026 Lead/Responsible Party: Housing Fund Board Action 2.A.2: Develop and seek service provider input on HFB/CoC restructuring/implementation plan with effort to minimize adverse impacts from change. Measure of Success: CoC Restructuring Plan completed Timeline/Milestone: November 2026 Lead/Responsible Party: Housing Fund Board Action 2.A.3: Complete HFB/CoC reorganization. Measure of Success: CoC Enactment completed Timeline/Milestone: May 2027 Lead/Responsible Party: Housing Fund Board Strategy: Improve Homeless Response System (HRS) capabilities to foster accessibility, accountability and transparency. Action 2.B.1: Institute biannual reviews of progress towards Homeless and Affordable Housing Services Plan goals and adapt strategies in response to emerging conditions. Ensure adequate resources for implementing goals of the Homeless and Affordable Housing Services Plan. Measures of Success: Annual Review Meetings in May and November Timeline/Milestone: Bi-Annually in June and December Lead/Responsible Party: Housing Fund Board Action 2.B.2: Design and implement a shared data system that tracks local drivers of homelessness and housing instability, functional model and system performance, including equitable access measures, and progress toward system-level goals. Incorporate Estimates of Service Level indicators into data system (see Appendix C) and identify system-wide measures of performance and target goals, such as a Length of Time Homeless target goal of 1 year, to enable concrete action (see Appendix F). Measures of Success: Published data on dedicated webpage completed; systemwide target goals established Timeline/Milestone: Ongoing; Milestones in December 2026 and December 2027 Lead/Responsible Party: Housing Fund Board’s Coordinated Data Committee Action 2.B.3: Establish shared operational policies and protocols (e.g., grievance procedures, financials accessibility) and standards of practice/care (e.g. shelter staff per x number of clients) based on experience and adaptable to different service populations and models. Measure of Success: Shared standards and goals published Timeline/Milestone: January 2028 Lead/Responsible Party: Shelter Coalition and CEAB Strategy: Support those most impacted by housing insecurity to participate in making decisions about, implementing, and assessing system policy, practices, and programs. Action 2.C.1: Hold bi-annual listening sessions to listen and respond to feedback on housing conditions and service from impacted populations. Measure of Success: Observed signs of increased trust and rapport between participants and facilitators  Timeline/Milestone: Ongoing Lead/Responsible Party: HFB’s Data and Needs Assessment Committee Action 2.C.2: Implement compensation program across agencies for lived experts to participate in policy setting, project development and operational reviews. Measure of Success: Compensation Program; Increasing participation in decision-making Timeline/Milestone: May 2027 Lead/Responsible Party: HFB Action 2.C.3: Pilot a community-defined equity of service standard of care that includes criteria like exposure to systemic racism, generational harm, and housing precarity outside the shelter system. Compensate by-and-for organizations for their participation. Measure of Success: Equity of Service Standard; Decreased disparities in access to service Timeline/Milestone: December 2027 Lead/Responsible Party: By-and-for organizations with CEAB Objective 3: Prioritize assistance based on the greatest barriers to housing stability and the greatest risk of harm. Building a solid foundation for the homeless response system depends on our collective ability to develop and allocate resources strategically. Strategic resources include robust financial programs, comprehensive and coordinated support services, and policy interventions that increase access to affordable housing. Effective approaches address both immediate needs and systemic issues that cause housing instability.  By focusing on the greatest barriers to housing stability and greatest risk of harm, we strengthen the entire system and improve outcomes across the board. Strategies and actions to support this objective are: Strategy: Improve financial sustainability of HRS through coordinated efforts to bring funding to the community for wider benefit. Action 3.A.1: Capture and communicate the benefits of HSR and AH investments. Measure of Success: News releases on significant developments issued Timeline/Milestone: Ongoing Lead/Responsible Party: BOCC, Port Townsend City Council Action 3.A.2: Incorporate evidence-based prioritization criteria into Jefferson’s local funding award mechanism (see Appendix D). Measure of Success: Modified RFP published Timeline/Milestone: September 2026 Lead/Responsible Party: Housing Fund Board Action 3.A.3: Monitor and evaluate functional model and system financial performance (see Appendix C, Estimates of Service Level). Measure of Success: Financial sustainability metrics completed Timeline/Milestone: December 2026; annually ongoing Lead/Responsible Party: Finance and Data Committees of Housing Fund Board Action 3.A.4: Identify key funding requirements by service agency and develop long-term HRS financial sustainability plan incorporating a broad range of fund sources (see Appendix E, Survey of Fund Sources). Measure of Success: Publish financial sustainability plan. Timeline/Milestone: December 2027 Lead/Responsible Party: Housing Fund Board Action 3.A.5: Facilitate securing and managing capital project funds for HSPs systemwide from grant opportunity identification and proposal development through grant compliance. Measure of Success: Publish financial sustainability plan. Timeline/Milestone: Ongoing Lead/Responsible Party: Finance Committee of Housing Fund Board Strategy: Vertically integrate housing programs and agencies working on outreach, entry into the homeless response system, placement in housing, and longer-term housing stability. Action 3.B.1: Engage, train and compensate lived experts in outreach to and engagement of underserved populations. Measure of Success: Increasing number of lived experts in HRS outreach/engagement staff positions Timeline/Milestone: Lead/Responsible Party: CoC Action 3.B.2: Develop shared policies across service agencies that ensure fair and equal access to assistance for all households experiencing homelessness, especially for those transitioning from homelessness and most at risk of housing instability. Measure of Success: Improved exits to permanent housing for disadvantaged populations Timeline/Milestone: Lead/Responsible Party: CEAB Action 3.B.3: Bridge gaps in the pathways to housing security by improving linkages between programs, services agencies, the CEAB and AH housing providers and private landlords. Measure of Success: Decreasing length-of-stay in homelessness; increase in placements to permanent housing Timeline/Milestone: Lead/Responsible Party: CEAB Action 3.B.4: Explore service delivery practices to reduce administrative and emotional burden of accessing and receiving services focusing on client-centered service delivery. Measure of Success: Decreasing length-of-stay in homelessness Timeline/Milestone: Lead/Responsible Party: Shelter Coalition and CEAB Strategy: Align efforts and resources for meeting essential needs across service sectors including housing, economic, social, governmental, and health agencies and organizations. Action 3.C.1: Work with cross-sector partners to develop and implement a decentralized point-of-access service model to meet people where they are at, including south and east county communities. Measure of Success: Increasing project entries systemwide Timeline/Milestone: January 2027; ongoing Lead/Responsible Party: CEAB Action 3.C.2: Participate in and provide networking opportunities and resources across service sectors focused on meeting essential needs of the unsheltered and underhoused populations. Measure of Success: Increasing efficiency of resource distribution Timeline/Milestone: June 2026; ongoing Lead/Responsible Party: Shelter Coalition Action 3.C.3: Partner with aligned organizations in creating community conversations (forums) where information, solutions, and common objectives are formed and shared. Measure of Success: Regular community conversations Timeline/Milestone: 2025-2030 Lead/Responsible Party: Housing Fund Board’s Community Conversation Committee Action 3.C.4: Engage and compensate by-and-for organizations as advocates for people experiencing historic and systemic disadvantages in accessing HSR services. Measure of Success: Compensation mechanism established Timeline/Milestone: January 2028 Lead/Responsible Party: CoC Objective 4: Prevent episodes of homelessness whenever possible. Strategies and actions that aim to prevent episodes of homelessness, including recurring homelessness, have proven to be highly effective. By addressing the causes of housing instability before people lose their homes, these strategies offer a cost-effective alternative to emergency shelter, prevent the trauma associated with becoming homeless, and provide essential support services that lead to long-term stability. These approaches save public resources, maintain community stability, and help people secure and keep housing, which is crucial to accessing other necessary services and opportunities. Strategies and actions that support this objective are: Strategy: Assist renters with information services and technical and material support that ensures they can stay stably housed. Action 4.A.1: Publish and distribute information resources on tenants’ rights as encoded in Washington’s rent stabilization law, fair housing laws and the Landlord-Tenant Act.  Measure of Success: Distribution of information resources Timeline/Milestone: January 2027; ongoing Lead/Responsible Party: CoC, Housing Solutions Network Action 4.A.2: Connect and advocate for tenants with organizations providing legal and conflict resolution services such as mediation and restorative justice. Measure of Success: Established relationship Timeline/Milestone: January 2027 Lead/Responsible Party: CEAB Action 4.A.3: Promote tenant training, including on-line certification programs, that help renters successfully navigate the rental process, become responsible renters, and prepare for home ownership opportunities. Measure of Success: Tenant training program Timeline/Milestone: TBD Lead/Responsible Party: TBD Action 4.A.4: Explore incubating a self-organizing tenants’ rights organization. Measure of Success: Convene workgroup Timeline/Milestone: March 2026 Lead/Responsible Party: Ad hoc workgroup Strategy: Expand supported affordable housing options for renters. Action 4.B.1: Develop a global lease model toolkit and promote its use in meeting needs of underserved low-income populations. Measure of Success: Publish toolkit. Timeline/Milestone: TBD Lead/Responsible Party: TBD Action 4.B.2: Convene workgroup to research and design alternative housing model that connects aging-in-place service needs with workforce housing needs. Measure of Success: Convene workgroup Timeline/Milestone: January 2027 – June 2027 Lead/Responsible Party: Ad hoc workgroup Action 4.B.3: Recognize the rights of people living in informal housing to security of tenure and develop related strategies for formalizing and improving their housing conditions. Measure of Success: Timeline/Milestone: 2028-2029 Lead/Responsible Party: HFB Strategy: Develop AH rental management resources that balance renters’ and landlords’ needs with goal of maintaining and increasing stock of community-based rentals. Action 4.C.1: Promote landlord training, including on-line certification programs, that would provide small landlords with assistance in developing better property management practices and improving the physical and financial condition of their properties. Measure of Success: Increasing number of renters taking training Timeline/Milestone: June 2027 Lead/Responsible Party: Action 4.C.2: Convene workgroup to explore establishing a non-profit rental management program that would provide support for community-based rentals including maintaining an affordable rentals registry. Measure of Success: Convene workgroup Timeline/Milestone: December 2026 Lead/Responsible Party: Ad hoc rental management workgroup Action 4.C.3: Investigate, evaluate and coordinate incentives for the addition, improvement and retention of community-based affordable rentals, including tax incentives for the maintenance and rehabilitation of unsubsidized affordable rental properties. Measure of Success: Report issued Timeline/Milestone: December 2027 Lead/Responsible Party: Ad hoc rental management workgroup Objective 5: Seek to House Everyone in a Stable Setting That Meets Their Needs Seeking to house everyone in a stable setting that meets their needs means creating pathways to permanent, secure, and appropriate housing for all people, with a focus on comprehensive, long-term support. This approach moves beyond simply offering temporary shelter to address the holistic needs of individuals, including health, money concerns, and personal security.  It recognizes that the extent to which varied, and sometimes complex individual needs are being met—often over extended periods of time and at multiple points along a pathway to housing security – requires holistic support. For example, increasing the supply of affordable housing may not advance housing security unless attention is paid to individual needs in accessing that housing. The strategies and actions that support this objective are: Strategy: Strengthen local partnerships to facilitate housing access across the housing spectrum by better matching underserved populations to housing that meets their types and levels of need. Action 5.A.1: Help to secure a long-term location for a year-round day center as a safe space for both sheltered and unsheltered individuals to access services. Measures of Success: Location secured; increasing number of unsheltered accessing services Timeline/Milestone: January 2026 – June 2026 Lead/Responsible Party: Shelter Coalition Action 5.A.2: Develop and implement a plan to provide emergency housing that meets the essential needs of the unsheltered population including the capacity to provide appropriate support to individuals experiencing SUDs, mental and behavioral health issues. The ad hoc workgroup will prioritize the involvement of lived experts in developing the plan. Measure of Success: Plan/Implementation Timeline/Milestone: January 2026 – January 2027 Lead/Responsible Party: HFB through Shelter Coalition Action 5.A.3: Explore creating a targeted housing program for older persons experiencing homelessness that leverages HSP investment in senior housing facilities. Measure of Success: Targeted Program Timeline/Milestone: December 2028 Lead/Responsible Party: HFB in collaborations with HSPs Action 5.A.4: Advocate for simplifying, streamlining, and expediting City and County permitting processes to facilitate housing development of emergency, transitional and extremely low-income housing, including tiny home communities. Measure of Success: Revised procedures Timeline/Milestone: December 2026 Lead/Responsible Party: BOCC, PT City Council and planning staff Action 5.A.5: Explore including family-sized units in existing planned EH and Transitional Housing developments and in new AH developments proportional to need. Measure of Success: Allocated family-sized units Timeline/Milestone: December 2026 Lead/Responsible Party: HFB Strategy: Resource capacity building in the Affordable Housing sector to address barriers to supply and meeting the needs of people experiencing housing insecurity. Action 5.B.1: Explore creating an Affordable Housing Advisory Committee (similar to Clallam County’s Housing Solutions Committee) that advises the city, county and housing providers on strategies to increase the supply of affordable housing and ensure equitable access to affordable housing for those most at risk for housing instability by including their representation on the Committee. Measure of Success: Joint Housing Advisory Committee is established. Timeline/Milestone: July 2026, ongoing Lead/Responsible Party: BOCC, City of Port Townsend Council, HFB Action 5.B.2: Evaluate a broad range of AH market and non-market supply strategies for their applicability to Jefferson County context, including Inclusionary Zoning, Permanent Affordability, Funded Inclusionary Zoning, and Community Housing. Issue a report with strategy recommendations. Measure of Success: Strategy recommendations Timeline/Milestone: December 2026 Lead/Responsible Party: Housing Solutions Network Action 5.B.3: Coordinate advocacy for state-level policy that supports AH development such as allowing jurisdictions to charge fees or taxes on housing units vacant for six months or more and providing funds for pre-development costs. Measure of Success: State policy change Timeline/Milestone: Ongoing Lead/Responsible Party: BOCC and advocates Action 5.B.4: Expand the existing Multi-Family Tax Exemption (MFTE) program in Port Townsend to include additional types of middle housing, a larger geographic area, an extended exemption timeline, and increased eligibility for community partners. Explore implementing an MFTE program in the county. Measure of Success: Port Townsend revised program; County program Timeline/Milestone: To be determined Lead/Responsible Party: City and County Planning Departments ADDITIONAL PLAN ELEMENTS In addition to determining the strategies and actions to support the five objectives addressed above, Commerce requires the following elements to be included in local plans: A Record of Public Engagement; Estimates of Service Level; Survey of Fund Sources for Homeless Housing Assistance Programs; Estimates of Permanent and Emergency Housing Needs; and Prioritization Criteria of Homeless Housing Capital Projects. These elements, their purpose, and proposed actions to meet their intent are discussed next. The elements themselves are provided in the referenced appendices. Record of Public Engagement Appendix A provides a record of public engagement and outreach efforts that supported this plan’s development and finalization. This record includes a summation of the service providers and lived experts who participated in the 2024-2025 Qualitative Needs Assessment used to inform this plan in addition to the record of the Task Force and public engagement in the plan development itself. The record demonstrates a level of engagement that goes beyond the basic requirements specified by Commerce but that is appropriate to a small rural county. Strategies and actions specifically related to public engagement in plan implementation include Actions 2.A.2 and 2.B.2 and Strategy 2.C. In addition, Actions 5.A.1.and 5.B.1 explicitly call for lived expert engagement during implementation. Estimates of Service Level The local plan must include a summary of current investments to address homelessness and housing instability by project type and funding source. This is included in Appendix C along with an explanation of why the Jefferson County data underlying the Service Level Estimates are inaccurate and incomplete and what steps Jefferson County is taking to complete the data and remedy the inaccuracies. Strategies and actions intended to provide future complete and accurate Estimates of Service Level include Strategy 2A and Action 2.B.2. In addition, the Housing Fund Board will organize a training led by Commerce on Annual Expenditures Reporting in the Fall of 2025 for HSPs. Prioritization Criteria of Homeless Housing Capital Projects The purpose of the Prioritization Criteria is to identify guiding principles for all projects, such as alignment with the strategies and actions from this plan and consistency with local plans and regulations including comprehensive plans, zoning, and countywide planning policies and state laws. Appendix D identifies the guiding principles/prioritization criteria the homeless housing task force and local government will take into consideration when prioritizing homeless housing capital projects for public investment in Jefferson County. Additionally, the Prioritization Criteria provide a link between findings on underserved populations from the data and qualitative needs assessment analyses and Strategy 5A: Strengthen local partnerships to facilitate housing access across the housing spectrum by better matching underserved populations to housing that meets their types and levels of needs. Appendix D identifies those capital projects that would demonstrate serving the greatest needs in terms of underserved populations and their needs. Actions 3.A.2 and 4.B.1 also address the Prioritization Criteria element. Survey of Fund Sources for Homeless Housing Assistance Programs and Capital Projects The purpose of the Survey of Fund Sources provided in Appendix E is to document resources available to the local government to implement the local homeless housing plan and support the local homeless crisis response system. Action 3.A.4 addresses the use of The Survey of Fund Sources in creating a long-term financial sustainability plan for the HRS. Estimates of Permanent and Emergency Housing Needs The Estimates of Permanent and Emergency Housing Needs are used to align objectives for capital projects homeless housing development with long-term land use planning by the City and County. This element incorporates the Projected Countywide Housing Needs for Jefferson County as adopted by the City and County in the Countywide Planning Policies (CPP). The local plan must include a five-year estimate in line with the local plan planning period (2025-2030) of the following housing needs based on the CPP’s projected needs: • Future permanent housing need for households making 0-30% of the Area Median Income (AMI); • Future permanent housing need operated as a Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) model for households making 0-30% of the AMI; and • Future emergency housing needs (i.e., emergency shelter and emergency housing) including transitional housing (TH). The table below summarizes the 5-year estimates for EH/TH and PSH needs and the Homeless and Affordable Housing Services Plan target goals in relation to Jefferson’s housing service provider capital development plans. Further detail on the development of the estimates can be found in Appendix F, Estimates of Permanent and Emergency Housing Needs. The proposed target goals for bed and unit production in the coming planning period of 2025-2030 are conservative to align with the current strategic plans of individual HSPs and to account for the uncertainty associated with operating funds being available to support HRS expansion. The target goal increase of five percent in EH beds over the five-year planning period relates to the proposed EH facility called for in Action 5.A.1. Five percent equates to a 30-bed facility. In addition, the Task Force is adopting a performance target goal of 1 year average for Length of Time Homeless which, if achieved, will reduce the projected number of EH units needed over the twenty-year planning period to 2045. This is discussed in greater detail in Appendix F. 5 Year Housing Need Estimates EH AND TH (beds) PSH (units) Subsidized AH Rental Under 80% AMI (units) Subsidized AH Ownership Under 80% AMI (units) Subsidized Affordable Housing Under 80% AMI (units)  Current # 184 65 449 76 525 Subsidized  Total Beds/Units Needed by 2030* 154 66 -- -- 2100   Current as % of Total 2030 Need 119% 98% -- -- 25%  Actual Planned for Next 5 Yrs 22 23 49 48 97  2030 Existing + Planned as % of 20 Yr Total Needed 33% 33% -- -- 6%  2030 Proposed Target % of 20 Yr Total Needed 38% 33% -- - 6%  Actual Planned 2031-2045** 0 0 252 38 290  Proposed 2031 -2045** 110 24 PHA numbers 0    * Total Units needed by 2030 are equal to 25% of HAPT 20-year Total Units Need (See Appendix F, Estimates of Permanent and Emergency Housing Needs). ** Actual Planned unit counts include projects for which either land or funding has been secured as a minimum. Proposed units are those for which concept plans are being developed. HRS Performance Measures In addition to the plan’s required elements described above, this plan makes use of the HMIS-derived performance measures as reported in the Department of Commerce’s Washington State Homeless System Performance County Report Card in the following ways: To identify system-wide measures of performance and target goals, such as a Length of Time Homeless target goal of 1 year. (See Action 2.B.2); To report progress on systemwide goals in the annual local plan progress reports; and As measures of success for various actions in this plan.