Mayor's Neighborhood Advisory Commission

The presentation highlighted significant developments in the region's health and human services landscape, including new mobile medical units providing medication-assisted treatment stationed at Division Street, Lummi Nation's groundbreaking ceremony for a secure withdrawal management center, and ongoing coordination efforts around encampment responses. Jason emphasized the complexity of addressing homelessness, noting that while Bellingham is a "passionate and empathetic community," the issues require nuanced approaches that balance compassion with public safety concerns. A major portion of the meeting focused on potential federal funding impacts to city services, with Mayor Strickland revealing that Bellingham could lose over $5 million in Medicaid reimbursement for EMS transport services, which would equate to 32 full-time positions — nearly 20% of the fire and EMS department. Senator Maria Cantwell's office had contacted the city that same day requesting quantification of these vulnerabilities. The discussion also covered the severe weather shelter operations, which have been staffed by overworked county employees due to lack of qualified organizations willing to operate emergency shelters. The county had put out a request for proposals to run the winter shelter but received no responses, highlighting broader challenges in staffing and supporting these critical services.

No formal votes or decisions were taken during this advisory meeting. This was primarily an informational session featuring presentations and discussion.

"Everyone does need a home. That's what I've been doing for the last 10 years, operating just out of that mindset. But then, also, people need to feel safe in their neighborhoods. And we need to make sure that you know we're protecting people from sex trafficking and other assaults and crimes and drug crimes that are happening and violence." **Mayor Strickland, on federal funding risks:** "We were contacted by Senator Maria Cantwell's office. They have some concerns about Medicaid right now they're invited the city to quantify what that vulnerability would be if Medicaid is eliminated, and that would be elimination of 5 million dollars, which equates to 32 ftes and fire and ems." **Jason, on Bellingham community character:** "Bellingham is is a passionate, very passionate, and empathetic community, the strong desire to support our unhoused and addicted neighbors." **Mayor Strickland, on local government's role:** "I'm a big believer in local government has the privilege to to do great work to shape where we live and how we live. And so, regardless of what's happening in the other Washington, we are working really hard as a team to be committed to keep going to work." **Jason, on service provider capacity needs:** "There is a considerable need for more service providers in our community specifically, organizations who are willing and have the capacity to staff operate emergency shelters, day centers, tiny home villages." **Mayor Strickland, on severe weather shelter staffing:** "The primary workers. the the severe weather shelter is operating with County health department staff. So they go to work. In the evening they spend the night at the shelter. They go home for a 4 h, respite, and then they go back to finish a few hours of their regular day job. It is not a sustainable model."

## Meeting Overview The Mayor's Neighborhood Advisory Commission convened on February 19, 2025, for their monthly meeting, with Mayor Kim Lund returning after missing the January session due to state business in Olympia. The evening's agenda centered on two major presentations: an introduction to the city's new strategic initiatives manager for health and human services, Jason (whose Norwegian surname proved challenging to pronounce), and a discussion of potential federal funding impacts on city operations in the wake of recent national political changes. The meeting drew neighborhood association representatives from across Bellingham, reflecting the ongoing community concern about homelessness, housing, and public safety issues that have dominated local discourse. What made this meeting particularly significant was the detailed look at how the city is attempting to coordinate its response to homelessness through dedicated staff and improved communication with service providers. ## Strategic Initiatives Manager Introduction Jason opened his presentation by sharing his personal connection to Bellingham, where he lived from 1999 to 2014 and developed what he called "the only place I've ever lived where I felt like I was truly part of a community of people who cared about the place they lived." His background in community psychology from the University of Washington led him through a career trajectory that began in emergency homeless shelters and progressed through various housing and therapeutic court roles in King, Snohomish, and Skagit counties before returning to Bellingham in October 2024. "Community psychology is a branch of what you call regular psychology kind of came to the forefront after World War 2 when there's a realization that all the vets coming back and suffering PTSD, it was a bigger problem than could be addressed on an individual basis," Jason explained, setting the context for his approach to systemic health and human services challenges. His four months on the job have been intensely focused on relationship-building and field experience. "I've really done a lot of stuff since I've been here, and I also started to worry that I forgot some stuff, too," he acknowledged while reviewing his extensive list of community partnerships with organizations including Lighthouse Mission, Lummi Nation, Lake Whatcom Center, and numerous outreach teams. One of Jason's most revealing observations came from his field work with various response teams. "This is my first time going out to one of the encampments. I went out with a couple of nurses to the no longer existing camp out behind Jack in the box, and just was humbled by their compassion and empathy for the people there and the work that they're doing," he said, describing the street medicine and wound care services provided by the Ground Level Response and Coordinated Engagement (GRACE) team. His work with the Alternative Response Team, Homeless Outreach Team, Community Paramedics, and Mobile Crisis Team has given him a comprehensive view of the city's response infrastructure. The Community Paramedics program particularly impressed him: "That's a program through the fire department, where they have a paramedic and a case manager that do scheduled visits to a caseload of people... They'll deliver meds. They'll help them schedule their appointments." ## Encampment Coordination Efforts One of Jason's key contributions has been improving communication around encampment actions. "This is something that has been getting a lot of positive response from service providers in the community... just the transparency coming from the city. When we know that an action is taking place, as opposed to having, you know, a crucial update of unannounced, we're giving as much notice as we can." The city has developed a system where Public Works creates detailed maps showing "precisely where any holdouts might be, or the last few remaining people who are just still dug in at the site, and then I can provide that to the whole network of outreach team service providers." Mayor Lund emphasized Jason's role as an important check in the process: "Having Jason be in the room as a really important check in our process, because when we sit around the table and we're talking about what are necessary actions for those large encampments... all of us can get into a very action task oriented kind of process. And so, having Jason be in the room intentionally to disrupt that a little bit, and to make sure that we're considering it's not just all the kind of the public works can do... we're talking about people." This approach has shown results. Jason shared a success story: "I think it was last week. We had someone walk in a woman from who had been at the Walmart camp with her son. She was on the map that we sent out the couple of days before saying she was. They were still out there, and outreach went out, and she got connected with lighthouse, and it's been living there ever since." ## Regional Partnerships and Committees Jason's role extends far beyond direct service coordination. He represents the city on multiple regional bodies, including the Justice Project Oversight Planning (JPOP) committee, the Incarceration Prevention and Reduction Task Force, the All Hands Whatcom Committee, the Whatcom County Housing Advisory Committee, and the Opioid Abatement Council. On the Opioid Abatement Council, Jason has the county's sole voting representative role, though he coordinates with representatives from Ferndale and Lynden who attend without voting capacity. Notably, Jason's salary is funded through opioid settlement money, representing a strategic use of these funds to build capacity for addressing addiction-related issues. The county has set an ambitious goal of achieving "functional zero" for unsheltered homelessness within ten years. Jason explained this concept: "Functional zero is when a city or county establishes a threshold, they set a number of individuals that they believe they could house within a one month period... if you say on any given month, we have the resources and capacity to house 10 people, then to be a functional zero means at no given time is that number above 10 of actual unsheltered people." ## First Impressions and Challenges After four months in the role, Jason offered candid observations about Bellingham's situation. "Bellingham is a passionate, very passionate, and empathetic community, the strong desire to support our unhoused and addicted neighbors. That being said, certain issues extremely complex and definitely require a nuanced approach." He acknowledged a shift in his own perspective: "I feel like previously in my career, working specifically in human services and addiction recovery, I've sort of operated in an echo chamber of people who only want... when you're in that advocacy role, you tend to not see all the big picture elements, and how complicated it can be from a public safety standpoint." His experience in encampments has been eye-opening: "I had not been in the encampment any sort of encampment environment prior to working here my, my shelter experience was all the level of emergency shelter and above. So those people who are at least functioning at a level where they were willing to come indoors overnight and access services... and in Canada, it's just a whole new world." One of the biggest challenges he identified is the shortage of service providers: "There is a considerable need for more service providers in our community specifically, organizations who are willing and have the capacity to staff operate emergency shelters, day centers, tiny home villages. That's one of the biggest challenges we face when trying to implement new programs... Even if you identify a lot where you can build, or a building that you can use? Who's gonna go in there and run the day to day." ## Community Questions and Concerns The presentation sparked extensive discussion from neighborhood representatives. A Letter Streets resident who lives near Lighthouse Mission raised concerns about security changes and communication gaps. "The Rsu contract that seemed to be very controversial that the neighborhood didn't know that the Rsu contract was being ended. And it just ended without any communication about it ending." Mayor Lund acknowledged this communication failure: "I sincerely regret that we didn't do proactive communication about these changes, so that you were informed and able to articulate what you were seeing in response to that." She explained that the city had timed the end of the RSU contract to coincide with the launch of bike patrols, but clearly the transition wasn't seamless from the community's perspective. Concerns about transient populations and drug trafficking emerged from multiple neighborhoods. A York resident noted, "With our geographical location along I-5 corridor... there are a lot of transient folks that are coming down I-5 getting off... and I'm seeing them causing much more of at least the recent problem that I am seeing with some of the folks that I've gotten to know." Jason acknowledged the complexity: "You can't tackle that alone... the only way to address that is, is by reporting, and it's been an effective way... making those connections and reporting it and then getting police out there to investigate." ## Federal Funding Impacts The meeting's second major topic addressed potential federal funding cuts affecting city operations. Mayor Lund outlined the city's vulnerability, particularly regarding Medicaid reimbursement for EMS transport services worth just over $5 million annually. "If we were to lose that money, that would be our biggest operational vulnerability at the city of Bellingham... that would be elimination of 5 million dollars, which equates to 32 FTEs in fire and EMS." The mayor emphasized the broader implications: "We wouldn't take those reductions there because we have an obligation for public safety, but it would likely, if that were to become a reality, we would have to look to... throughout the organization. We would have to distribute that loss of revenue." Federal impacts extend beyond direct city operations to community services. The Continuum of Care dollars that Jason mentioned earlier – approximately 3.6 billion nationally – were frozen at the federal level the day before the meeting. As Mayor Lund explained, "They don't flow directly to the city of Bellingham, but they flow to Whatcom County government that provides this array of homelessness and housing services that would directly impact our neighbors." Capital projects face uncertainty as well, including a $24 million bridge project dependent on federal grants and various multimodal transportation projects with bike lanes and roundabouts that may need reapplication. The human impact of these cuts became personal when Mayor Lund shared, "We have our first and only female Fire Chief, and she was scheduled to go to a National training Academy this summer and that program... under a FEMA umbrella, and it has been eliminated." ## Community Safety and Reporting Throughout the discussion, the question of how residents should report concerns arose repeatedly. Mayor Lund provided clear guidance: "911 is the default connector... you can always call. And you know... call 911... if a different response is required, then they're the qualified experts to assess that." She emphasized that alternative response options are accessible through 911: "We have all kinds of alternative supportive responses that are accessible through 911. In fact, there's an alternative response dispatcher at 911... they have a 911 computer in their office that the calls are route directly there." Jason added practical advice for mental health crises: "I have called 911 seeing an individual having a mental health crisis... when I, you know, dispatch picks up. I say, I'm calling with a non-emergency. Believe it's mental health crisis. An alternative response is the right response." ## Immigration and Community Protection Questions about protecting vulnerable community members led to affirmations of the city's policies. Mayor Lund stated clearly: "Nothing has changed at the city, our commitments, our values. Our approaches, are unwavering in supporting all community members that live here." Regarding 911 services specifically: "You will never be asked for your immigration status by 911 dispatcher. Our biggest fear is that someone is having a real emergency and is scared to call and ask for the help that they need. And so it is safe to call 911. We do not share that information with federal agents." The city is reinforcing these commitments through the Keep Washington Working Act compliance work group, and Police Chief Mertzig has been vocal about the distinction between local and federal roles in immigration enforcement. ## Severe Weather Shelter Challenges Discussion of the county-operated severe weather shelter revealed systemic challenges in volunteer coordination. Mayor Lund explained the unsustainable model currently in use: "The primary workers... go to work in the evening they spend the night at the shelter. They go home for a 4-hour respite, and then they go back to finish a few hours of their regular day job." The volunteer training bottleneck stems from capacity limitations: "It is not safe or effective to have a small skeleton crew of employees trying to manage a large number of volunteers... especially in these kinds of service areas." The county had put out a request for an organization to run the winter shelter "and they had no responses. And so that speaks to some of the challenges of the work... the pay at which we value that work." ## Advisory Group Process Changes The meeting concluded with discussion of citywide changes to advisory group processes. With more than 20 active advisory groups, the city is implementing consistency measures including term limits and reapplication processes. Mayor Lund explained the rationale: "We frequently know the names of appointees to advisory groups... for a city as we hit 100,000, I should rarely know the names of the community members that are serving on the boards." The goal is diversifying participation: "Often we share opportunities for service with our immediate groups and that kind of keeps who's at the table within the same group over time." The city is also exploring ways to remove barriers to participation, including potential stipend systems and childcare support. ## Closing & What's Ahead As the meeting concluded, there was recognition of both progress and ongoing challenges. The successful coordination at Baker View encampment, where "we anticipated there was going to be a challenging individual... and so we had one of the crisis negotiators from police there and went into a negotiation mode and was successful," demonstrated the value of the improved approach. Yet significant challenges remain, from staffing shortages in service organizations to federal funding uncertainty to the complex balance between compassion and public safety. Jason's presence represents a commitment to keeping human needs at the center of policy decisions, while the broader discussion revealed a community grappling with the reality that local solutions must address problems with regional and national dimensions. The evening ended with appreciation for practical improvements – the bike patrols downtown, the Baker View cleanup success, the free tree program for neighborhoods – while acknowledging the long-term work ahead in addressing homelessness, addiction, and community safety in a comprehensive and humane way.

## MODULE S1: STUDY GUIDE **Meeting ID:** BEL-MNA-2025-02-19 ### Meeting Overview The Bellingham Mayor's Neighborhood Advisory Commission met on February 19, 2025, with Mayor Satya at City Hall. The meeting featured a detailed presentation by Jason Kvistberg, the city's new Strategic Initiatives Manager for Health and Human Services, who discussed his work coordinating services for the unhoused community. The commission also discussed potential federal funding impacts on city services. ### Key Terms and Concepts **Strategic Initiatives Manager (Health and Human Services):** A newly created position at the City of Bellingham focused on coordinating health and human services partnerships between the city, county, and nonprofit agencies. Jason Kvistberg holds this role and his salary is funded through opioid settlement money. **Alternative Response Team (ART):** A specialized team that responds to mental health crises and other non-emergency situations, providing an alternative to traditional police response. **Ground Level Response and Coordinated Engagement (GRACE):** A street medicine team that provides wound care and medical treatment to people in encampments. **Functional Zero:** A goal where a city or county maintains the capacity to house any unsheltered person within one month, keeping the number of unsheltered homeless below that capacity threshold at all times. **Continuum of Care (CoC) Dollars:** Federal funding that flows from the federal level through state agencies to support homelessness services and housing programs. **23-Hour Crisis Stabilization Center:** A planned facility that would serve as an emergency room diversion for people in behavioral health crisis, currently in development. **Designated Crisis Responders (DCR):** Mental health professionals who handle involuntary treatment assessments for people experiencing mental health crises. **Keep Washington Working Act:** State legislation that limits local government cooperation with federal immigration enforcement, recently prompting the city to form a compliance working group. ### Key People at This Meeting | Name | Role / Affiliation | |---|---| | Mayor Satya | Mayor of Bellingham | | Jason Kvistberg | Strategic Initiatives Manager, Health and Human Services | | Janice | Mayor's Office staff member | | Jake Charlton | Happy Valley neighborhood representative | | Michael | City Council member | | Councilmember (unnamed) | Streets neighborhood representative | | April | Commission member | | Raman | Beach Neighborhood Association representative | ### Background Context The City of Bellingham created the Strategic Initiatives Manager position to better coordinate health and human services work, which had previously fallen to the community development department at an opportunity cost to economic development efforts. This role serves as a dedicated liaison between the city, Whatcom County (which has constitutional responsibility for health and human services), and nonprofit service providers. The meeting occurred during a period of uncertainty about federal funding cuts that could significantly impact local services. The city identified over $5 million in potential losses from Medicaid reimbursements alone, which would equal roughly 32 full-time positions in fire and EMS departments. Jason's work focuses heavily on encampment management, coordinating with service providers to ensure people have access to services before encampment clearances occur. This represents a shift toward more humane and coordinated approaches to addressing homelessness. ### What Happened — The Short Version Jason Kvistberg gave a comprehensive presentation about his first four months as the city's health and human services coordinator. He explained how he's been building relationships with local service providers, riding along with outreach teams, and working to coordinate services before encampment actions. He described the complexity of addressing homelessness and addiction, noting that it requires balancing compassion for vulnerable people with neighborhood safety concerns. The commission learned about Jason's role on multiple regional committees, including the Justice Project oversight committee, housing advisory groups, and the opioid abatement council. He outlined upcoming priorities like planning additional tiny home villages and exploring embedded behavioral health services with police. Mayor Satya then discussed potential impacts from federal funding cuts, particularly a freeze on $3.6 billion nationally in homelessness funding and potential elimination of Medicaid reimbursements that provide $5 million annually to Bellingham's fire and EMS services. The meeting concluded with discussion of the city's process for diversifying advisory board membership by requiring all members to reapply for their positions. ### What to Watch Next - Jason's meeting with police leadership about expanding bike patrol coverage around Lighthouse Mission - Progress on relocating existing tiny home villages to new northwest location - Development of the 23-hour crisis stabilization center - Federal funding decisions affecting local homelessness and health services - Implementation of the new advisory board reapplication process ---

## MODULE S2: FLASH CARDS **Meeting ID:** BEL-MNA-2025-02-19 **Q:** What is Jason Kvistberg's official title? **A:** Strategic Initiatives Manager for Health and Human Services, working in the Mayor's Office. **Q:** How is Jason's position funded? **A:** Through opioid settlement money received by the city. **Q:** What does "functional zero" mean in homelessness services? **A:** When a city maintains capacity to house any unsheltered person within one month and keeps the actual number below that capacity threshold. **Q:** Which team provides street medicine and wound care in encampments? **A:** GRACE - Ground Level Response and Coordinated Engagement. **Q:** What is the 23-Hour Crisis Stabilization Center? **A:** A planned facility that would serve as an emergency room diversion for people in behavioral health crisis. **Q:** How much federal funding could Bellingham lose from Medicaid cuts? **A:** Over $5 million annually, which equals about 32 positions in fire and EMS departments. **Q:** What was frozen nationally in homelessness funding? **A:** Approximately $3.6 billion in Continuum of Care dollars that flow from federal to state to local levels. **Q:** Which organization operates mobile medical units stationed on Division Street? **A:** SeaMar, providing medication-assisted treatment (MAT) for opioid use disorder. **Q:** What major change is happening with city advisory boards? **A:** All members must reapply for their positions to diversify participation and ensure consistency across groups. **Q:** How many active advisory groups does the city have? **A:** More than 20 active advisory groups. **Q:** What was the RSU contract controversy? **A:** A security firm contract around Lighthouse Mission ended without neighborhood notification, causing concern. **Q:** Where is the new tiny home village location? **A:** Northwest area, where Unity Village and Swift Haven will be relocated. **Q:** Which hospital system did the mayor ask to partner on crisis services? **A:** PeaceHealth, though they declined to participate in the 23-hour crisis center. **Q:** What state law compliance is the city reaffirming? **A:** Keep Washington Working Act, which limits cooperation with federal immigration enforcement. **Q:** How many people can Lake Whatcom Center house in supportive apartments? **A:** Over 200 apartment beds with about 10% capacity available at all times. **Q:** What training program was eliminated that affects Bellingham's Fire Chief? **A:** A national training academy for female leadership under FEMA that Fire Chief was scheduled to attend. **Q:** When do the severe weather shelters typically operate? **A:** During winter months, staffed primarily by county health department employees working extended shifts. **Q:** What regional task force does Jason represent the city on? **A:** Incarceration Prevention and Reduction Task Force (IPRTF) related to the Justice Project Implementation Plan. **Q:** How does the city coordinate encampment actions now? **A:** By providing advance notice to service providers and detailed maps showing remaining residents for targeted interventions. **Q:** What is Mayor Satya's goal for advisory board diversification? **A:** To rarely know appointees personally, indicating broader community participation beyond immediate networks. ---