Olympia gives Jungle residents 10 days to add their names to list for housing
The City of Olympia posted flyers in its last-remaining homeless encampment known as the Jungle stating that residents had less than two weeks to add their name to a list aimed at helping move people into housing.
The move raised concerns from local service providers about the timeline for closing the encampment.
According to the flyers from the city, dated May 18, 2026, a by-name list of people at the Jungle is being created to help in the long-term plan to close the encampment.
“We expect that everyone on the list will be offered housing at some time in the future,” according to the flyer. “This will take a while and the offer of housing will not happen at the same time for everyone. We expect that everyone who maintains their status on the list will be given a housing offer.”
The list will be closed Thursday, May 28, at 3 p.m. No one can be added to the list after that date. It’s voluntary, and housing can be refused, according to the flyer.
Olympia resident David Webb said during public comment at the May 19 Olympia City Council meeting that the flyer was double-sided and stuck to a tree. He told the council that the back side included in-person opportunities to sign up, and only in English. He said many of the residents of the encampment don’t speak or read English.
“Implementing a cut-off date while you continue to displace your neighbors is cruel and a demonstration of your values and how little you actually respect your constituents in the Jungle,” Webb said.
Tye Gundel, executive director for Olympia Mutual Aid Partners, told the council the first steps toward closing the Jungle are unfolding. She said OlyMAP, which is a local organization that provides services for people experiencing homelessness in Thurston County, has been supporting the Jungle for about 10 years.
She said they’ve been providing case management, outreach and shelter-in-place services.
“We currently have over 100 residents of the jungle enrolled in our case management program, and over 200 residents have accessed our shelter-in-place services since November,” she said. “Today our staff went out to do our weekly cleanup at the Jungle, and also saw the notices posted on the trees. It was there that we learned that notices went out yesterday, and also that a deadline had been set for the creation of this by-name list for May 28, which is less than 10 business days away from the day that it was posted in less than two weeks altogether.”
Gundel said OlyMAP is concerned about the pace at which closing the encampment is moving, and the creation of this list.
Assistant City Manager Debbie Sullivan said at the council meeting that the Jungle is a “very complex situation.” She said city staff have been going out to the encampment for several days to get to know people and create the by-name list.
“I just want to say that the creation of the by-name list allows us to take advantage of housing units that are funded by the state Department of Commerce that are becoming available, so we can start transitioning people into housing sooner rather than later,” Sullivan said. “We are going to have to do a longer planning process in order to find solutions for people to move into housing.”
The Olympian has reached out to Assistant City Manager Stacey Ray for more information about the flyer, the list of names, the timeline, the support from Commerce, and when and where the city is moving residents.
Mayor Dontae Payne said at the council meeting that the city’s job is to treat every resident with dignity and respect, and to transition them into housing as safely and as smoothly as possible.
“That is our charge. That is our mission, and we are committed to that,” Payne said. “What you won’t see is us sort of fall into this trap of it has to be either one or the other. We are doing our best to respond to a crisis that frankly goes way beyond the borders of the city of Olympia, and the borders of the state of Washington, and we have a small budget to do so.”
Payne said the city will continue to advocate for federal and state dollars to help address the housing and homelessness crisis. He said he understands the concerns that there may not be enough available units for those in the Jungle, and that they are working at the pace that housing becomes available for folks.
“For those community members who are concerned about the treatment of the people who live there, we hear your concerns,” he said. “For those of you who also have concerns about the types of activity that has happened on that property, we hear those concerns as well, and we are doing our very best to balance all of these things while we transition the people that live there, and I have all the confidence in our city organization that we will meet this challenge.”
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