Olympia group says without funding it won’t be able to help area homeless after July 1
It has been a year since Olympia Mutual Aid Partners started providing on-site case management to people experiencing homelessness.
With an original goal of servicing four camp communities, including Ensign Road and Deschutes Parkway, the nonprofit has since helped people at 15 encampments. According to a year-end report provided by OlyMAP to the Regional Housing Council on June 22, the nonprofit has served 250 people since June 2021.
Despite the accomplishments, Program Coordinator Tye Gundel told the housing group the nonprofit doesn’t currently have funding to continue providing these on-site services after June 30, and without it, OlyMAP will be temporarily closing down all scattered site operations on July 1.
Gundel said funding to keep the pilot program alive into next month hasn’t been confirmed by the county yet, which provided the funding in the first place.
Gundel said Friday the Regional Housing Council was able to identify some additional funds that are coming to the county soon. Some may be allocated to OlyMAP, but a decision isn’t being made until the middle of July.
“There’s no guarantee that funding will be coming our way,” Gundel said. “And it isn’t a lot. It would help us bridge the gap and buy us some time to figure out the rest of the funding without disrupting services. But it isn’t enough for a full year.”
Gundel said OlyMAP would like to continue services the first couple weeks of July, in hopes that more funding will become available when it’s needed. She said they’re going to try to make it work until the decision is made.
She said the lack of commitment for funding from the county isn’t related to the group’s failure to meet program goals. According to the year-end report, 55 of the 250 people served enrolled in OlyMAP’s intensive case management program. And 174 have enrolled in other case management programs.
Of those enrolled in the intensive program, 26 were connected to improved shelter or permanent housing. Altogether, 31 people were connected to housing.
But the program wasn’t perfect, and there were several bumps along the way. The report says a lack of alignment or clear goals among stakeholders, as well as homeless camp sweeps, were among the problems.
The report refers to the Olympia sweeps of the Deschutes Parkway and upper Ensign encampments last winter, which displaced about 50% of the people OlyMAP was working with.
The nonprofit conducted end-of-year surveys with 63 residents across two encampments to get a feel for how helpful their services were. The majority said case management had a substantial positive impact on them and their ability to find housing. About half said they felt OlyMAP had improved safety at the encampments, and about 73% of people said the nonprofit improved their connection to resources and other services.
The majority of those surveyed also said they want OlyMAP to continue providing services to them and their encampments in the future.
But the ability to serve people where they are has gotten difficult as time has gone on and more encampments are displaced. Multiple encampments along state Department of Transportation property, such as Wheeler Avenue, Ensign Road and Percival Creek are facing closure at any time.
“Though there are potential new shelter and housing options on the horizon that may provide alternatives for people living at these sites, there will most likely not be enough spaces available for everyone facing displacement,” the report reads. “Even more, there are concerns among impacted communities and providers about how compatible these options will be with the unique needs and barriers of the populations they are meant to serve.”
If they can secure the funding, OlyMAP hopes to continue building its relationship with faith communities and hotels across the county to house people until more permanent options are available.
The report says the nonprofit will continue seeking site control and support opportunities as much as they can. They will also be increasing data collection and community education efforts, as well as pursuing more sustainable partnerships.
Gundel said the biggest worry is how those they serve are going to be impacted by the lack of services. She said OlyMAP is one of the only homeless nonprofits in the area that provides connections to several services like weekly laundry and winter heat and safety supplies. Without funding, about 40 people would lose regular access to case management.
“To have us kind of disappear overnight, that’s a huge disruption,” Gundel said. “Providing outreach services and case management, meeting people where they are is an effective and good way to provide that support.”
This story was originally published June 25, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
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