A major focus of this year’s legislative session has been on housing and homelessness issues. And, at the end of the day, the Legislature invested a significant amount of money to address this crisis in its final budget.
Operating Budget includes $160 million, including $55 million for the Housing Trust Fund:
- $60 million of the Home Security Fund appropriation is provided solely for a local government competitive grant program to increase local temporary shelter capacity;
- $15 million per year for three years for Permanent Supportive Housing Operations and Maintenance;
- $15 million for Housing & Essential Needs for fiscal year 2021;
- $5 million for fiscal year 2021 is solely for an SSI Housing Pilot for extremely low-income people with disabilities in high-cost counties;
- $400,000 for fiscal year 2021 is for a grant to a King County based nonprofit that serves homeless and at-risk youth and young adults for a pre-apprenticeship program for youth and young adults experiencing homelessness to obtain employment in the construction trades;
- $500,000 for fiscal year 2021 is provided solely for the office of homeless youth prevention and protection programs to create a centralized diversion fund to serve homeless or at-risk youth and young adults;
- $200,000 for fiscal year 2021 is provided solely for a grant program to Clallam County to conduct an assessment of the needs of the county’s homeless population;
- $75,000 for fiscal year 2021 is provided solely for a grant to a nonprofit organization formed in 2018 that provides a shared housing and living environment for pregnant women, single mothers and their children who are homeless or at risk of homelessness in Pierce county;
- $75,000 for fiscal year 2021 is provided solely for Commerce to co-lead a prevention workgroup with the department of children, youth and families on preventing youth and youth adult homelessness;
- $400,000 for fiscal year 2021 is provided solely for the office of homeless youth to administer a competitive grant program for licensed youth shelters, HOPE centers and CRCs for behavioral health support services;
- $80,000 for fiscal year 2021 for fiscal year 20201 is to establish an identification assistance and support program to assist homeless persons in collecting documentation and procuring an identicard;
- $420,000 for fiscal year 2021 is provided solely for the implementation of SB 6495 related to Housing and Essential Needs eligibility expansion for pregnant women;
- $1,007,000 for fiscal year 2021 is provided solely for a transitional housing pilot for non-dependent homeless youth;
- $200,000 for homeless student stability program;
- $2,375,000 for fiscal year 2021 and $44,000 of federal fund appropriation are provided solely to eliminate the supplied shelter grant standard for pregnant women assistance, refugee cash assistance, and the aged, blind, or disabled assistance programs;
- $600,000 for fiscal year 2021 is provided solely for a statewide nonprofit resource center to assist homeowners at risk of foreclosure, supplied shelter grant standard for pregnant women assistance, refugee cash assistance and the aged, blind or disabled assistance programs; and
- $600,000 for fiscal year 2021 is provided solely for a statewide nonprofit resource center to assist homeowners at risk of foreclosure.
The Capital Budget includes $63 million for housing:
- $40 million appropriation for the Housing Trust Fund;
- $10 million appropriation to rapidly preserve currently affordable homes, including USDA funded affordable homes;
- $8 million for shelter capacity grants; and
- $5 million appropriation provided solely for preservation of the Housing Trust Fund portfolio.
