Wednesday, October 28, 2026
The Thurston County Regional Housing Council is going to consider a number of legislative priorities for the upcoming 2027 session of the Washington State Legislature.
The priorities include additional funding to address homelessness and protection for permanent supportive housing programs from potential federal cuts.
The Regional Housing Council (RHC) will discuss the proposed priorities at a meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 28, with action on the issue scheduled for a meeting next month.
The RHC develops legislative priorities annually, and then shares the information with participating jurisdictions and local lawmakers.
Jurisdictions may adopt the priorities into their own legislative agendas and advocate for those goals during the state legislative session.
Because the RHC does not have lobbyists, its efforts to advance the proposals rely on advocacy by participating jurisdictions.
A new proposed priority would ask the state to replace any cuts to federal Continuum of Care funding for projects in 2026.
The recommendation comes amid changes to funding priorities and processes being implemented by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
Thurston County agencies received approximately $4.3 million directly from HUD through the federal Continuum of Care program in 2025-26. The funding supported 14 projects, including 10 permanent housing projects.
According to a staff report, the changes in HUD’s 2026 Notice of Funding Opportunity put some of those resources, particularly funding for permanent housing, at risk.
“Current local and state funding resources are not sufficient to make up for the potential loss of funding for these projects,” the report states.
The council is asking the state to cover 100 percent of any federal reductions.
The council is also seeking $5.74 million for the state’s Encampment Resolution Program (ERP), a 3 percent increase to cover rising costs for operations, outreach and site monitoring.
Thurston County is one of five participating counties in Washington. The proposal asks the Washington Legislature to give communities the ability to use funds for housing, staffing, services and other local needs.
A proposal submitted by Lacey would ask the state to continue supporting the planned transition of Maple Court to permanent supportive housing.
Regional partners have identified permanent supportive housing as the site’s long-term goal through formal agreements. The state has allocated $4.25 million toward the transition, while the RHC has committed an additional $1.1 million.
The proposal priority asks the state to continue advocating for and supporting the use of those funds for their intended purpose: completing the transition to permanent supportive housing.
The City of Olympia submitted a proposal for the RHC that seeks approximately $6.5 million in state investments to help transition residents out of "The Jungle" encampment and permanently close the site.
Initial estimates identified approximately 284 people living at the encampment. After six weeks of outreach, assessment and housing efforts, about 270 people were estimated to remain, according to the staff report.
Meanwhile, housing units supported by the ERP become available at an average rate of about five per month.
“Without significant additional housing and shelter capacity, transitioning all remaining residents could take an estimated three to four years,” the staff report states.
The council’s proposed request would support approximately 200 additional units to accelerate the transition and help bring the encampment’s permanent closure.
The council is proposing a statewide rapid-response framework to address complex homelessness situations that exceed local resources.
The plan calls for better coordination among state agencies, faster deployment of personnel and shelter capacity, and a Homeless Rapid Response Team to assist communities facing challenging encampments. It also seeks to expand programs, such as the ERP.
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Boatyarddog
Does the plan account for income being quite a bit below Syaye of Feds guidelines. Do officals even know how little money is actually in peoples pockets. I hope they do but i believe this a pipe dream designed to break hearts and peoples wills. Sorry foe the Debbie Downer sound bit Too many Years have gone by with VERY LITTLE ACTUAL RESULTS. And with the republicans in office for a couple more years, it qill get worse before its even a possiably of being better.
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