Grant County seeks comment on draft homeless housing plan
EPHRATA – Public comment is being accepted on a draft plan to guide community decisions on funding and services for homeless housing assistance in Grant County over the next five years.
Following a 30-day comment period that ends Nov. 5, the proposed plan will be submitted to Grant County commissioners for review and adoption in December.
The county’s final homeless housing plan, required by state law, must be submitted to the Washington Department of Commerce by the end of this year.
The document will provide “a framework for collaboration, resource allocation, and accountability within the county’s homeless crisis response system through coordinated and strategic action,” county commissioners said in an Oct. 6 press release.
A copy of the 87-page document is available online. The updated draft plan cites opinions on the causes of homelessness, the county’s role in addressing the issue, and what services to prioritize.
The draft also contains demographic information on unsheltered persons’ ages, median incomes, unemployment and eviction rates, and expenditure costs for housing, including “severe burden costs” for mortgage or rent payments and utilities which exceed 50% of monthly income.
Public comments can be submitted online, emailed to cemanell@grantcountywa.gov, faxed to 509-754-6098, dropped off at the commissioners office at the county courthouse, or mailed to Grant County Commissioners Office, P.O. Box 37, Ephrata, WA 98823.
Each January, counties in Washington participate in a one-night “point in time” count of homeless or unsheltered persons. While the numbers are not comprehensive, over time they have provided a reliable view of the minimum number of individuals experiencing homelessness in local communities.
In Grant County, approximately two out of every 1,000 persons is considered homeless, which is slightly lower than the state rate of 2.5 persons per 1,000, according to Washington Department of Commerce.
Grant County’s PIT count on Jan. 30 of this year showed 78 individuals were considered unsheltered while 106 were in emergency shelters, transitional housing, or “safe havens.”
The county’s PIT counts over the past two decades has fluctuated. They reached near-high totals of 277 and 274 in the “Great Recession” years of 2008-09, dropped to a low of 65 in 2010, then peaked at 286 in the mid-pandemic year of 2022, according to updated Commerce figures released this August.
Statewide in 2024, there were 31,554 people experiencing homelessness in Washington, making it the third-largest homeless population in the nation after California and New York. The updated August report indicated a continued increase in homelessness over the prior year, though the rate has slowed.
But the rate is still too high, Washington Commerce director Joe Nguyễn said in a press release regarding the latest report. “Too many people in our communities don’t know where they’re going to sleep at night, or if they’ll be safe when they try to rest.”
Commerce provides training, data collection software and technical assistance to the 34 small- and medium-sized counties in Washington and produces the statewide results.
Agencies involved in preparing Grant County’s draft homeless housing plan for 2025-2030 include the county commissioners’ office, Housing Authority of Grant County, Grant County Health District, Grant County Veterans Service Office, Grant County Corrections, City of Moses Lake, Renew Behavioral Health and Wellness, Samaritan Healthcare, and individuals who have “lived experience” being unhoused or homeless.
Along with state law, data collection for the PIT and a related Housing Inventory Count is mandated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for an annual Homelessness Assessment Report that is shared with Congress and other governing bodies.
