By Aaron Kunkler

The Chronicle

Thurston County and local leaders met Thursday in Tenino for a second housing summit discussing ways to increase and improve affordable housing in south county at a time when the homeless population in the area is growing.

According to statistics provided by Thurston County Commissioner Bud Blake, there were 48 homeless people counted in the south county towns of Rochester, Yelm, Rainier and Tenino this year, a dramatic increase from last year’s count of 18.

Commissioner John Hutchings was also present at the meeting, as well as area nonprofit representatives and city and county officials.

Bringing more affordable housing has long been an agenda item for commissioners, Blake said.

“It’s been talked about for the last 10 years,” he said.

There may finally be movement though, as he said the county plans on focusing housing resources in Tenino first, and then spreading outward to other communities like Rainier and Rochester.

Converting dilapidated housing units into liveable housing inventory and selling them to low-income individuals or families, using federal funds, is one option available to the county.

South Puget Sound Habitat for Humanity is also accepting applications for housing repairs as well as for homes.

These housing programs, Blake said, should be packaged with comprehensive social support programs to increase the likelihood that people will be able to retain their new homes as well as provide overall support.

Another tactic that the county could implement is a Community Housing Development Organization.

The organization would be comprised either of low-income people or their representatives and make decisions on how housing funding should be spent and following through on housing projects.

Currently, there are already a handful of these organizations operating in Thurston County.

However, applicants for these programs are lower than they could be, said Tenino Mayor Wayne Fournier.

The city is currently developing a plan to implement a code enforcement division along with community cleanup actions where they might be able to identify people who could benefit from programs being offered.

There will be public hearings on Feb. 17 at 1 p.m. and March 10 at 6 p.m. at the Tenino courthouse on code enforcement, and another meeting on Feb. 15 at the Tenino High School commons at 6:30 p.m.

Another problem identified at the meeting was a lack of outreach capabilities in south Thurston County, and ideas ranging from billboards to social media tactics were discussed.

These programs are designed to assist both low-income homeowners as well as creating new, affordable housing for homeless people.

Blake said solutions like the Development Organization are long-term ones and will likely take at least a year to implement.