North Beach Project Connect (NBPC) hosted its quarterly “One Stop Shop” event in person for the first time since the pandemic began.

The event, which happened Thursday, Jan. 20, at the Ocean Shores Lions Club, brought community partners to interact with North Beach residents and share information on various assistance programs.

“The idea for One Stop Shop was to get some groups together that provide resources to the community so that they can share opportunities people may not know about,” said NBPC Executive Director Susan Conniry.

One of the agencies in attendance was the Grays Harbor County Assessor’s Office, which shared information with elderly and disabled residents about tax exemptions.

“There is a program around the state to keep senior homeowners in their homes when their income falls below $40,000, so they don’t get taxed out of their homes,” said Grays Harbor County Assessor Dan Lindgren.

Should applicants qualify, their home value is frozen at that time to prevent increases in property taxes. The program also reduces the amount of property taxes recipients are responsible for paying by exempting them from excess levies, Part 2 of the state school levy, and some portion of the regular levies depending on income.

Applicants must be at least 61 years of age or unable to work because of a disability, and must live in a home they own for more than six months in the assessment year. According to Lindgren, the office is willing and prepared to help elderly applicants work through their application, whether it be in person or over the phone.

“A lot of people here today don’t have a way to get out of North Beach, so they call these agencies and leave voicemails, but they never hear back,” said Conniry. “Here they can be told yes or no right away.”

Staff from Grays Harbor PUD were also in attendance to share several of their programs, including a low-income ductless heat pump program and a senior and disabled discount program. The senior and disabled program offers a 10% to 35% discount depending on income.

Resources were available for more than just the senior residents of North Beach. Save the Children, an organization that supports families with small children in the home, was also there to discuss child care and referrals.

“There’s a misconception that this area is just elders and retirees, so I think today has been eye-opening for other groups to see how our services are needed,” said Rochelle Padron, Lead Associate for Western Washington Programming.

According to Padron, Ocean Shores is technically considered a “day care desert,” which places additional strain on families in the area who have young children in the home.

Another organization that serves the entire Ocean Shores community is the Ocean Shores Food Bank. According to staff who attended the event, the food bank distributed food to nearly 5,000 households last year, many of whom used their services sporadically during particularly difficult times.

“Forty-one percent of our guests only came once or twice, when they had some reason why they had to choose between food and something else,” said Ocean Shores Food Bank President Bob Harley.

According to Harley, the majority of guests are elderly with health issues, so the food bank offers food that meets nutrition requirements to promote the health of guests.

Other agencies in attendance included the North Beach Senior Center, Molina Healthcare, and the Coastal Community Action Program. The quarterly event is an opportunity for North Beach residents to learn about the resources available to them, but also for the agencies to learn from one another how to better serve the community.

“Originally this event was just five-six agencies in the church, and not a lot of people attended but the agencies got a chance to network and learn about what one another does,” said Conniry. “It’s an education for everyone to help each other.”

For those unable to attend the one stop shop events in-person, Conniry will be interviewing the agencies via Zoom and making the recordings available on the NBPC website.

“This is an opportunity to learn what other needs we have in Ocean Shores, what agencies are out there, and if they’re not out there, how we can come together to make it work,” she said.