Housing Action Team

Vision:

Affordable, adequate, and safe housing for all.

Scope:

The Housing Action Team (HAT) has developed strategies and recommendations to ensure housing adequacy and quality for our community.

They are responding with a comprehensive approach to addressing the housing needs of our community, especially for those who are homeless and severely cost-burdened (spending 50% or more of their income on their housing). Stability of housing is a key to reducing many health risks, including chronic stress, depression, untreated mental health, poor nutrition and self-care, and respiratory illness.

Teams:

The Housing Action Team (HAT) is the policy and priority driving team for regional housing related issues in Thurston County. The HAT takes the information and priorities from the work groups, and helps drive regional policy as a collective. Minutes and agendas for the HAT can be found in the TEAM DOCUMENTS, on this page.

Each group outlines goals and strategies on the HAT strategy map below. The teams are color-coded, and work on specific areas of the housing continuum:

• The Homeless Housing Hub “red team” (HHH) is composed of a cross sector team working to end homelessness. Activities include networking, development of best practices & policy work. This team also serves as the Thurston County Continuum of Care for the Department of Commerce, and is part of the Housing Hub for the Thurston Asset Building Coalition.
• The Incentivize Housing Team “blue team” is focused on ways to involve the private sector and local developers in working with the municipalities and nonprofits to solve our housing problems together.
• The Rental Housing “green team” looks into ways for renters, landlords and property managers to get support, tools and education to help improve multiple aspects of rental housing. The  goal is for rental housing to remain in good, healthy and livable condition over time to continue to serve as safe, healthy and affordable housing for current and future generations.
• The Senior Housing “silver team” focuses on the housing needs of seniors as the age of our community increases, income disparity widens, and the need for care for chronic health increases among our population.

All Housing Action Team meetings are open to the public, and we welcome a diversity of opinions and sectors. You can find the meeting times and locations for all team meetings on the Event tab.