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Adopted by the Board of County Commissioners <br />February 3, 2009 <br /> 18 <br />· Referral to inpatient chemical dependency treatment <br />· Preschool for children 0-5 <br />· Services for children with special needs <br />· Family support services (case management, goal setting, etc.) <br />Housing <br />· Various apartments with some family units available <br />· HUD subsidized housing in Ellensburg and Kittitas <br />· Transitional housing (limited) <br />· Rent assistance <br />· Senior Rent Assistance program (65+ y/o) <br />· Homeless housing units (Crestview Terrace) <br />Agency Operations <br />· Agencies refer to clients to other agencies – maximize resources between everyone <br />· Volunteers make agency operations possible <br />· Kittitas Valley Ministerial Alliance Association maintains pot of money for donor <br />churches to use for crisis services for congregation members (food, clothing, <br />transportation, shelter, etc.) <br />Food <br />· Food bank for anyone who needs it, not just homeless <br />Other Considerations <br />“Couch surfers” came up in conversation several times. Couch surfers stay with friends and <br />family, sleeping on different couches for periods of time. Without a formal definition of <br />“homeless,” there is no consensus if couch surfers are homeless; and, most persons who are <br />“couch surfers” do not consider themselves homeless. In 2008 the Kittitas County Point In Time <br />Count identified 149 homeless individuals in the county. A portion of these were couch surfers. <br />The State, however, indicated that only 75 of that number met their definition of homeless. It <br />seems apparent that we have significant numbers of “couch surfers” in our homeless <br />population. Services should be extended to these individuals as well. <br /> <br />Many of the listed resources seem to address the needs and gaps listed. However, surveyed <br />agencies agreed that the existing services were not enough – there is not enough funding, staff, <br />or resources (housing, food, etc.) to meet the needs in our county. <br /> <br />The faith community (Ministerial Alliance) provides resources to its members in crisis, but a <br />special fund created by donations from various churches is spent almost entirely on transients <br />passing through the county rather than permanent residents. Without a comprehensive <br />tracking system, it is impossible to know exactly how many homeless people there are in <br />Kittitas County, or who is receiving services compared with the need. <br />