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13 <br />• “Having these programs be discrete and having them have a more welcoming environment. <br />Pride happens at every level. You may be in a situation where you need assistance and <br />help, but it’s hard to ask for help. It’s a big step, asking for help.” <br />• “There’s an unwillingness to help rather than unwillingness to take help.” <br /> <br /> <br />Question 4: With limited resources in Kittitas County, what would you <br />prioritize to address homelessness? <br />For this question, most groups were asked to spend a couple of minutes brainstorming <br />individually. Then, they were asked to pick their top two ideas, write them on a large sticky <br />note, and put them up on the wall. The facilitator helped to identify commonalities among the <br />ideas to create themes. <br /> <br />People with Lived Experience: The top priorities listed for people with lived experience fell into <br />four themes: Addressing barriers, addressing stigma, temporary housing assistance, and housing <br />availability. <br />ADDRESS BARRIERS <br />▪ Addressing mental health and substance use disorder as a barrier <br />▪ Disability/addiction services <br />▪ A place for someone who is homeless to clean up for a job interview <br />▪ Addressing lack of tenant history and lack of an address <br />▪ Help getting people insurance so they can seek behavioral health services <br />▪ Patience in weekly goals for improvement <br />ADDRESS STIGMA <br />▪ Forgiving someone’s past <br />▪ Being open minded and giving people a chance regardless of circumstances <br />▪ Prioritizing trauma informed training <br />TEMPORARY HOUSING ASSISTANCE <br />▪ More assistance for people who are doubled up (to prevent homelessness) <br />▪ Emergency temporary housing <br />HOUSING AVAILABILITY <br />▪ Have more units available <br />▪ Fundraising for building ownership to increase available housing <br />▪ More housing availability <br /> <br />• “My top one is addressing substance abuse and behavioral health stuff…from my own <br />personal experience and what not.” <br />• “From my personal experience, forgiveness for someone’s past.” <br />• “I guess more of a system for people who are in doubled up scenarios….A little bit of <br />preventive maintenance for the homeless, when on that teetering spot, could go a long <br />way.” <br />Service Providers: Three themes emerged with a couple of outliers: Communication, Behavioral <br />Health Services, and Shelter and Transitional Housing. Outliers included job training and livable <br />wages, and mentors during and after school age for parents and kids. There was discussion around