Youth and Young Adult Access in Coordinated Entry

Thousands of homeless youth in Washington go to sleep without safety, stability and support of a family or a home. Coordinated Entry is designed to provide the quickest access to the most appropriate housing to every household experiencing homelessness through a standardized assessment and referral process. There is concern the young adult population may be overlooked while Coordinated Entry is prioritizing the unsheltered populations. We want to ensure young adults experiencing homelessness and Coordinated Entry providers are aware of local resources. This link provides information on young adult shelter and housing programs. 

*Please note: this list consists of agencies contracted with Department of Commerce only, and there may be additional options available to young adults. 

Myth: All clients on Aged, Blind and Disabled (ABD) receive a cash benefit of $197 per month.

Fact: The cash benefit to ABD recipients may vary based on an individual’s income and housing assistance need. The standard payment from Washington State Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) to ABD clients is $197 per month. Individuals who are housed and have no housing costs (for example, are staying with friends or family and do not need to pay rent) receive a reduced benefit of $120 per month. This means that in almost all instances, individuals enrolled in ABD and receiving Housing and Essential Needs (HEN) rent assistance from housing providers should be receiving the full $197 cash benefit from DSHS because they owe rent to a third party.

HEN service providers are encouraged to contact a local social services supervisor if they believe a client is not receiving the correct cash benefit amount. 

The Landlord Mitigation Program is now accepting applications!

Monday, Aug. 13 marked a significant day for landlords and their liaisons to help landlords bring their rental properties up to subsidy standards and remedy for damage caused by subsidized tenants. A new law offers landlords up to $1,000 in funds for modifications made to a rental unit prior to occupancy to pass a subsidy inspection. In addition, landlords can claim up to 14 days of lost rental income due to the required repairs. During and following the tenancy, landlords may claim up to $5,000 in additional reimbursement for damages caused by the tenant.

Please review the website at https://commerce.wa.gov/landlordFund for more information and contact Nick Yuva at (306)725-2949 or Nicholas.Yuva@Commerce.Wa.Gov for questions.

Curious about the number of evictions in your city or county? 

The Eviction Lab website provides comprehensive information on eviction in the United States, including an interactive map looking at eviction statistics nationwide. You can narrow down the data to see the eviction rate in your local area. Learn more here: https://evictionlab.org/

The Washington Balance of State (BoS) Continuum of Care (CoC) is inviting interested persons to join our CoC and attend our monthly online meetings.

The BoS is composed of the 34 smallest counties in the state (excluding King, Pierce, Snohomish, Clark and Spokane). The BoS works with 48 HUD-funded projects to coordinate planning, data collection and funding applications. The BoS also discusses strategies to better prevent and end homelessness in our 34-county region. 

We want a broad network of individuals to attend our monthly online meetings to help our efforts to prevent and end homelessness.  If you are interested in joining, or have any questions, please contact Matt Mazur-Hart at matt.mazur-hart@commerce.wa.gov.