PORT ANGELES — The Clallam County commissioners unanimously approved $850,000 for organizations working to address homelessness, less than half of the nearly $1.85 million that was requested.
The funding comes from two pots of money: House Bill 2163 funds, which are typically used for projects that help provide temporary shelter of some kind, and HB 2060 funds, which are used for projects surrounding affordable housing.
The contract cycle will go from July 2025 to June 2027.
The HB 2163 awards, as recommended by the Homelessness Task Force, include:
• $276,000 for Serenity House shelter aides
• $100,000 for Trinity United Methodist Church’s safe parking program
• $100,000 for a housing navigator for Healthy Families of Clallam County
• $60,000 for the Mariposa House in Forks
• $60,000 in operational funding for The Answer for Youth (TAFY)
• $60,000 for the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Olympic Peninsula to support teen homelessness prevention and resources
• $40,000 for a case manager for Sarge’s Veteran Support
• $24,000 for TAFY’s free six-month housing program for males from inpatient treatment or jail/prison
The Olympic Peninsula Community Clinic’s mobile app creation did not receive any of the $50,000 it requested, as a similar venture had previously introduced to the community with little success and the Homelessness Task Force thought that the proposal lacked a clear tie-in to the funding priorities.
The HB 2060 awards include:
• $64,209.30 for Healthy Families of Clallam County emergency shelter units
• $50,790.70 for a kitchen remodel in the Forks branch of Sarge’s Veteran Support
• $15,000 to aid Peninsula Housing Authority in construction of Eklund at Gales.
Both HB 2163 and HB 2060 funds are supplied by a recording fee on certain types of documents. The money can solely be used for projects that fit the scope of the funds.
“The revenue in both of these funds is seeing a pretty significant decrease,” said Jennifer Oppelt, deputy director for Clallam County Health and Human Services.
In addition, commissioners recently allocated an increased amount of funding to various projects by utilizing the fund reserves, leaving that to be “quite at minimum now,” Oppelt said.
Due to the limited funds available, all the organizations received less money than they requested.
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Reporter Emma Maple can be reached by email at emma.maple@peninsuladailynews.com.
