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5 <br />E xecutive Summary <br /> <br />T he Homeless Housing 5-Year Planning Committee organized five focus groups facilitated by a <br />n external facilitator, Robin Read. The purpose of the focus groups was to gain the <br />p erspective of the community about homelessness and related issues, and to inform the d <br />evelopment of community priorities that can be addressed in the 5-Year Plan. <br />Th e focus groups ranged from four to eight participants each and were made up of <br />c ommunity members, people with lived experience with homelessness, law enforcement a <br />nd local government, service providers, and students, faculty, and staff from Central <br />W ashington University. Participation in the focus group questions and activities was robust. <br />a nd all attendees actively participated throughout the duration of the sessions. <br />F ocus Group Questions <br />Th e focus groups explored the following questions: <br />Is the homelessness problem in Kittitas County better, worse, or the same than 5 years ago? <br />Why? O verall, across the focus groups participants tended to feel that the problem has <br />e ither stayed the same or gotten worse. Some participants weren’t sure due to lack of k <br />nowledge about the problem, or limited time in the community. Many felt that the <br />p roblem is more visible than it used to be and there are more services available which is <br />w hy it may seem like it has gotten worse. People generally felt that more needs to be done. <br />to address the issue. Participants cited increased costs, poverty, housing costs, and u <br />nemployment or low wages as the primary reasons for increases. <br />In a community survey, behavioral health services (mental health and substance use <br />disorder) and job training and employment services were listed as priorities for individuals <br />experiencing homelessness. Does this resonate with you? Are these priorities? Why or why <br />not? P articipants tended to agree that these are priorities, but lots of people expressed <br />c oncern that housing and basic needs aren’t considered priorities first. It was expressed <br />th at basic needs like housing, food, and clothing have to be addressed before individuals <br />c an address behavioral health and/or employment. Substance use disorder was a common t <br />heme among the groups as something that is common problem for many people who. <br />e xperience homelessness. <br />Unwillingness to participate and limited availability are listed as the top barriers to <br />accessing services. How can we address these barriers? While some participants agreed <br />th at these are barriers, many listed other barriers that they felt are more prominent, such a s <br />complicated processes and stigma and judgment. Many participants took issue with the f act <br />that many of the survey respondents selected “unwillingness to participate” because <br />t here are many factors that go into someone not participating in services (i.e., stigma, poor t <br />reatment, lack of documentation needed, barriers to accessing services, etc.) Common <br />i deas for addressing barriers were reducing judgment of people accessing services, having p <br />ersonal advocates or peer advocates who can help people walk through the system, and <br />i ncreasing accessibility of mental health services. <br />What are your barriers to accessing services? What was successful/what worked well? (for <br />people with lived experience) Barriers listed by people with lived experience included <br />a ddiction, experiencing negative judgment, having a criminal history, not having