## Meeting Overview The Bellingham Community Development Advisory Board gathered on November 14, 2024, for their monthly meeting in the Mayor's Boardroom, with attendance both in-person and via Zoom. Ten of thirteen board members were present, including Chair Karin Jones, with the notable absence of City Council representative Jace Cotton. The meeting featured comprehensive presentations from two key housing service providers, followed by work sessions on funding processes and municipal code revisions. The evening centered on understanding the community's rapid rehousing ecosystem and finalizing the city's funding mechanisms for the coming year. Both presentations illuminated the complex landscape of housing assistance in Bellingham, while the work sessions addressed procedural matters that will shape how the city allocates millions in housing and community development funds. ## The Reality of Rapid Rehousing in Whatcom County Lindsay Brewer from the Opportunity Council opened the presentations with a detailed look at their rapid rehousing program, painting a picture of both the challenges and successes in getting families from homelessness to stable housing. The program serves unsheltered families with minor children, with families entering through the county's coordinated entry system based on vulnerability assessments. "We do let families define what is a family to them," Brewer explained, emphasizing the program's inclusive approach. "It could be multi-generational, it could be one parent, two parent families are self-defined." The program requires families to have minor children 17 years or younger with at least 50% custody, be staying in Whatcom County, and meet area median income guidelines of 50%. The mechanics of the program reveal the complex choreography required to move families from emergency situations to permanent housing. Families often stay in emergency hotels for extended periods – sometimes over a year – while case managers work to reduce barriers and secure permanent housing. During this phase, case managers provide comprehensive support: letters of explanation for rental applications, credit reports, assistance with applications, and critically, advocacy with landlords. "I think one of the biggest benefits is twofold," Brewer noted. "We do have a landlord liaison who can work on connect our clients to? Who can advocate for our clients, and then we also work very closely with property management companies on a monthly basis to make sure those relationships are maintained." The program follows what Brewer described as a sample pathway: families typically lease up within the first month, with the program providing a budget showing current financial status versus what would be needed to pay full rent independently. The goal is a relatively quick transition – 3 to 6 months – though reality often extends this timeline. Case managers meet weekly with families, working on employment, transportation, resume writing, and connections to other services. Board member Matt Unger pressed on a critical assumption underlying the model: "It seems we've predicated on wages increasing faster than rent. Are wages increasing faster than rent?" Brewer's response was telling: "What do you think? Maybe the answer is no. I would agree with you." This acknowledgment speaks to a fundamental tension in rapid rehousing programs nationwide. The model assumes that with temporary support, families can achieve financial stability sufficient to maintain housing independently. But in markets where rent increases outpace wage growth, even successful program graduates may struggle. The program's outcomes tell a more complex story than simple success rates might suggest. In 2023-2024, they served 133 families or 429 individuals, with 98% exiting to permanent housing and 50% paying full market rent without ongoing subsidies. However, as Brewer noted, "We see some I would say, because when they exit our program, it is tracked right? So we're saying, yes, we'll serve this person again. No, we won't serve this person again. We don't tend to see a lot of clients that we might have served, but we do see minds that maybe other agencies have served." ## Lydia Place: A Comprehensive Housing Intervention Model Meredith Stamey and Louis Walbreck from Lydia Place presented their multi-faceted approach to ending family homelessness, emphasizing their mission to "disrupt the cycle of homelessness and promote sustained independence for current and future generations." With over 400 children currently served, Lydia Place operates on the principle that "every day that a child experiences housing insecurity, or homelessness will add to experience of trauma." Walbreck detailed their four primary housing intervention models, each serving different needs along the housing stability spectrum. Their permanent supportive housing program, operated in partnership with the housing authority, provides 70 units where Lydia Place handles case management while the housing authority or Indigo Property Management handles property management. More unique is their campus housing program, where Lydia Place owns and manages 19 units across three properties. "We can set beyond just the rent, we can set the screening criteria," Walbreck explained. "We're not going to be then subject to like the screen right criteria of the housing authority or indigo property management. That's something that we can choose who we are renting to, which gives us some more flexibility to be able to support households that might not be able to get into housing elsewhere." This flexibility proves crucial for families facing barriers that would typically disqualify them from traditional housing programs. When board member Deidra Prado asked about these barriers, Walbreck identified evictions, debt to previous landlords, criminal history, and substance use involving methamphetamine or fentanyl as common disqualifiers for public housing that Lydia Place can accommodate. Their rapid rehousing program mirrors Opportunity Council's model but operates on a longer timeline – typically one and a half to two years of support. Families pay 30% of income toward rent initially, with the goal of gradually taking on larger portions until they're paying full rent. "If at some point that again life happens becomes no longer a viable option for a variety of reasons, we would then shift gears and focus on trying to support the family in getting a housing choice voucher," Walbreck noted. The case management approach across all programs emphasizes client leadership. "I am not going to be effective, and it frankly wouldn't be appropriate for me to come in and tell a family what I think they need in order to be successful," Walbreck said. "They know their family the best, and they're the experts in their own lives." This trauma-informed approach recognizes that once families achieve safe housing, "there's a healing process that can begin. And that's when I think the real core like part of the case management services starts to shine." Goals might range from traditional employment and education objectives to "establishing clear and comfortable boundaries with your friends, family, and neighbors." ## The Mathematics of Housing Instability Both presentations revealed sobering trends about housing affordability in the region. Walbreck highlighted that "vacancy rates are still incredibly low. Rental prices and cost of living are continuing to rise." Over recent years, they've seen increasing numbers of families exiting programs to situations requiring permanent rental subsidies rather than achieving complete financial independence. "It has become more challenging, especially I would say probably for single parent households," Walbreck observed. "I feel like we've also been seeing an influx in the number of larger households we've been supporting. Where it can just be very difficult to afford full rent if you're talking about paying $2,500 a month or something like that on a single income." Andrew Calkins from the housing authority provided context during questions, noting that they have approximately 1,900 housing vouchers – "It's not a huge number. Thank you. Right, yeah. And it's not likely to increase over the next couple of years. That's for sure." This scarcity of rental assistance creates what Calkins characterized as a bottleneck: even families who successfully complete rapid rehousing programs may ultimately need permanent rental subsidies to maintain housing stability, but those subsidies are extremely limited. As Calkins noted in his comments, "Even if you've been in some kind of housing program. Maybe you've had supportive services. Maybe you've been referred to a job training program, right? It's going to take you a long time potentially before you can afford something on your own, even if you're slowly growing your income over time." ## Emergency Shelter and the Hotel System Both agencies rely heavily on emergency hotel placements, a system that emerged prominently during the COVID-19 pandemic but has become an entrenched part of the regional homelessness response. Walbreck described one family that "stayed in a hotel for over a year after they referred to us. It took that long before they secured but then sign a lease." The constraints of hotel living became clear in the discussion. Families face restrictions on food preparation – "A lot of places won't allow like a hot plate or anything in order to be able to prepare food," Brewer explained. "So usually you're limited to something that doesn't require heat to prep, depending on the size of like your fridge you're also potentially limited to like the mini fridge." When board member Shannon Laws asked about families with nine children in motels, Brewer clarified: "Oh, well, they have occupancy standards. So we do have to do, I think they're in two gather and do possibly that's totally different." The system represents both a crucial safety net and a suboptimal solution. As Walbreck noted, "I think so incredibly highly of our hotel partners. And I'm so grateful for that shelter option. It is certainly not something that is intended for a family with children to stay for long periods of time... and also that is significantly better than the alternatives that we're considering." Board member Matt Unger asked whether emergency hotel vouchers might eventually disappear as housing supply catches up. The responses revealed different perspectives on this "dream question." Brewer suggested hotels might diminish not because homelessness is eliminated but because "it's probably not the most economical and trauma-informed way to serve households." Walbreck agreed: "the availability of the hotel stays at the capacity that they have existed, especially since the pandemic is going to probably continue to decrease, but that is not necessarily indicative of a decreased need for emergency shelter resources." ## Financial Realities and Program Sustainability Stamey shared Lydia Place's budget projections, forecasting $6.7 million for the coming year with 58% coming from government contracts. This funding mix creates inherent challenges: contracts operate on reimbursement models, creating cash flow gaps that require other funding sources to bridge. "We have staff now. We're doing the service now. We'll bill and then be reimbursed for that, which can create a challenging funding gap." Community support provides about 20% of funding – over a million dollars from individual donors, businesses, and organizations. Stamey particularly appreciated the city's prompt payment: "we're also really grateful to the city very prompt with paying us, even though it is reimbursement, which helps alleviate the cash flow pressure." For the specific family services program discussed, the city contributes approximately $350,000 of a roughly $2 million program budget – significant but not the majority funding source. This financial structure illustrates how city investments leverage much larger programmatic impacts through the assembly of multiple funding streams. ## Work Session: Finalizing Funding Mechanisms The evening's work sessions addressed two procedural but consequential matters. First, the board reviewed draft Notices of Funding Availability (NOFAs) for the city's various housing and community development programs, with approximately $2.1 million available for housing and human services alone. Board member Aran Clauson raised concerns about scoring criteria in the community facilities NOFA, specifically questioning why equity and social justice received only 15 points compared to 30 points for consolidated plan priorities and 25 points for population served. "I remember that being more heavily weighted in the past cycle," Clauson said, suggesting increasing equity scoring to 25 points to match other top categories. The discussion revealed how scoring matrices reflect policy priorities. Staff explained that equity and social justice criteria had been newly added to capital project NOFAs this year for consistency across all funding programs, having previously appeared only in social services funding. The scoring process involves subcommittees including board members and community partners, with scores informing but not determining final funding recommendations. After considerable discussion about whether equity principles were already embedded in other scoring categories, the board ultimately decided to maintain the 15-point allocation, with several members noting they'd seen strong equity integration across applicant organizations in recent years. ## Municipal Code Revision: Meeting Requirements The second work session addressed a seemingly mundane but practically significant matter: reducing the Community Development Advisory Board's required annual meetings from nine to four. Staff explained the challenge of consistently filling nine meetings with substantive agenda items throughout the year. "Staff never wants to bring you in to say, Hi! How are you? What's your favorite dinner? Have a good night," Kathleen Morton explained. The reduction to four meetings establishes a minimum requirement while allowing flexibility to hold additional meetings when needed – likely six or seven annually. Board member Jake Hawes raised practical concerns about condensing work into fewer sessions, asking whether meeting duration would increase. Staff assured the board that meeting lengths would remain similar, with the potential to combine presentations that might previously have been spread across separate meetings. The change reflects a broader trend in municipal governance toward more flexible meeting structures that can adapt to varying workloads throughout the year while ensuring essential business gets completed. ## Staff Updates and Community Context Housing and Services Program Manager Samya Lutz provided updates on other significant items moving through city processes. The Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Report (CAPER) was scheduled for city council review on November 18th, documenting the city's housing and community development activities over the past year. The housing levy's Administrative and Financial Plan, which had been extensively discussed in previous meetings, was slated for council consideration on December 9th. One addition would explicitly authorize the city's current practice of providing pre-development loans to housing developers – "something that the prior two mayors ago really encouraged us to say, what can we do to kind of be a little more proactive about getting more folks involved in this." Lutz also addressed severe weather shelter preparations, with Whatcom County contracting to lease the downtown Lutheran church for emergency shelter when temperature thresholds are met. The county provides staffing while the Opportunity Council coordinates volunteers, with capacity for 60-70 people and an anticipated maximum of 50 operational days based on previous winter patterns. ## Stories Behind the Statistics Both presentations concluded with individual stories that illustrated the human impact of these programs. Lydia Place shared the journey of a family entering their program while fleeing domestic violence: "They stayed in a hotel for over a year after they referred to us. It took that long before they secured but then signed a lease, and then, during their time in the program, they were able to maintain employment and consistently paid rent and other bills on time, they began to think about going back to school to pursue a degree in social work." The family ultimately chose to exit the program having "achieved enough stability that they're moving on to pursue their own personal family goals, which includes saving money to hopefully buy a home of their own and pursuing their education." Such stories illuminate how housing stability can become a foundation for broader life goals and community contributions. ## Closing and Future Implications The meeting adjourned at 7:50 PM after staff addressed questions about presentation logistics and accessibility for future Zoom-based meetings. The evening had provided board members with detailed understanding of how city housing investments translate into direct services for families experiencing homelessness. The presentations revealed both the success and limitations of rapid rehousing models in a challenging rental market. While programs demonstrate significant success in moving families from homelessness to housing, the longer-term question of housing affordability remains largely unresolved. As both presenters acknowledged, wage growth hasn't kept pace with housing costs, meaning that even successful rapid rehousing graduates may require ongoing rental assistance to maintain stability. For the Community Development Advisory Board, these realities will inform their upcoming review of funding applications in early 2025. The approximately $2.1 million available for housing and human services represents significant community investment, but the presentations made clear that addressing homelessness requires sustained, multi-faceted approaches that extend far beyond any single program or funding cycle. The board's work – reviewing applications, setting funding priorities, and advising on policy – takes place against this backdrop of complex challenges and modest but meaningful successes in supporting Bellingham's most vulnerable residents.