KC 5yr Plan 2025 (1) - Laserfiche WebLink

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7 Local & State Context and Background This five-year plan builds on and reinforces the goals set forth in the Comprehensive Plans of Kittitas County and its citfes. Across all jurisdictfons with current comprehensive plans, Ellensburg, Cle Elum, Roslyn, South Cle Elum and Kittitas County itself, there is strong alignment around several key prioritfes: expanding access to affordable housing, reducing homelessness through preventfon and interventfon, supportfng vulnerable populatfons, and fostering coordinated service delivery. These shared goals provide a consistent planning foundatfon. Each of the five strategic goals outlined in this plan is explicitly tfed to comprehensive plan policies, ensuring alignment not just in language, but in long-term community intent. Kittitas County’s Current Homelessness Landscape In 2024, the Point-in-Time (PIT) Count identffied 91 individuals experiencing homelessness in Kittitas County. Approximately 65 were sheltered and 26 were unsheltered. The 2025 PIT Count found 26 individuals experiencing homelessness, 11 of which were unsheltered. While the decrease is notable, year-over-year PIT counts should be interpreted with cautfon, especially in rural communitfes where visibility and access vary. A number of factors can affect the accuracy of the count, including number of volunteers conductfng the count, camping ordinance enforcement, and weather. Ongoing tracking through By-Name Lists and coordinated outreach remains essentfal for understanding the true scope of local need. HMIS enrollments support the downward trend observed in Kittitas County's PIT counts, which dropped from 91 individuals in January 2024 to 26 in January 2025. While overall HMIS enrollments decreased slightly from 432 in FY2023 to 403 in FY2024, the share of individuals accessing preventfon services grew notably. This shift suggests local strategies are not only reaching people earlier but effectfvely preventfng homelessness before it occurs. While the data for SFY2025 was not finalized at the tfme of this report, these trends point to a positfve impact of targeted investments in early interventfon and housing-focused support. The chart below shows the breakdown of entries by project type. Kittitas County HMIS Entries by Project Type Source: Washington State Department of Commerce The challenges contributfng to homelessness in Kittitas County mirror those seen statewide but take on a distfnct form in this rural context. Housing costs have risen sharply over the last several years. Between 2017 and 2023, the median gross rent in the county increased by nearly 50%, while household incomes remained below the state average. As of 2023, nearly one in five renters were spending more than 50% of their income on housing, making